Given name
Kimo
“he who supplants”
Kimo is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James.
Original HawaiianJames
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kimo is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hawaiian.
How it developed
Kimo is used as a form of James. Kimo is a form of James. The shared background comes through James: The route to James passes through Late Latin Iacomus, a variant of the Latin form of Jacob. This different Latin development helps explain how James and Jacob could become distinct English names while retaining the same older origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1949. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Kimo is a form of James. The history of James gives this family its wider story. James was borne by two New Testament disciples: James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. James later became a recurring Scottish royal name: James VI of Scotland took the English throne in 1603. After James II lost that throne in 1688, his family’s supporters became known as Jacobites, drawing on the Latin form of James.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Kimo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 859
- 859 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 28 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −55%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 8 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 28 in 1981. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 859 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kimo’s family of names
In Hawaiian usage, Kimo is a nickname for James. In Hawaiian usage, Kimo was borrowed from the English form Jim. Kimo is a form of James.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kimo
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kimo, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jacques
“he who supplants” · “heel grabber”
>99% boys
Jaime
“he who supplants” · “she who supplants”
91% boys · 9% girls
Caithon
“a gift from God”
—
Kaithan
“a gift from God”
>99% boys
Kaithen
“a gift from God”
—
Kaethon
“a gift from God”
—
Kathun
“a gift from God”
—
Kaethan
“a gift from God”
—