Given name & surname
Kip
“from the small pointed hill”
Kip is a variant of Kipp. One English interpretation is “from the small pointed hill.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kip is a variant of Kipp. One English interpretation is “from the small pointed hill.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kip is a variant of Kipp. An origin associated with Kipp is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Kip is a diminutive of Kipling.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1935. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kip through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,722
- 8,568 boys · 154 girls
- Most popular year
- 1965
- 432 babies
- 2025
- 104
- #1,626 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +45%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 104 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,626 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 45.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 419 in 1965. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,755 as a first name in 2020; 271 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kip’s family of names
In English usage, Kip is a diminutive of Kipling. Kip has a related form in Kipp. In English usage, Kip is a shortened form of Kipling.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kip
- Kip ThorneAmerican physicist (born 1940)
- Kip PardueAmerican actor and modelborn 1975
- Kip WingerAmerican rock musicianborn 1961
- Kip CarpenterAmerican speed skaterborn 1979
- Kip ColveyAmerican-New Zealand footballer (born 1994)
- Kip MooreAmerican musicianborn 1980
- Kip HanrahanAmerican jazz music impresario, record producer and percussionistborn 1954
- Kip BrennanCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1980
- Kip MillerAmerican ice hockey playerborn 1969
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Kip, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Kent
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