# Kim (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kim/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /kɪm/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Kym |
| US babies named this | 214,768 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 34,951 / 179,817 (84% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 702, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 50 | 3,293 |
| 2012 | 92 | 2,087 |
| 2013 | 62 | 2,792 |
| 2014 | 69 | 2,571 |
| 2015 | 72 | 2,516 |
| 2016 | 53 | 3,120 |
| 2017 | 47 | 3,366 |
| 2018 | 36 | 4,040 |
| 2019 | 54 | 3,024 |
| 2020 | 39 | 3,750 |
| 2021 | 39 | 3,847 |
| 2022 | 40 | 3,797 |
| 2023 | 38 | 3,944 |
| 2024 | 28 | 4,834 |
| 2025 | 34 | 4,228 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 7 | 10,275 |
| 2012 | 9 | 8,557 |
| 2013 | 8 | 9,275 |
| 2014 | 19 | 4,980 |
| 2015 | 11 | 7,331 |
| 2016 | 7 | 10,265 |
| 2017 | 8 | 9,329 |
| 2018 | 5 | 13,263 |
| 2019 | 10 | 7,959 |
| 2020 | 10 | 7,828 |
| 2021 | 8 | 9,306 |
| 2022 | 10 | 8,069 |
| 2023 | 9 | 8,615 |
| 2024 | 13 | 6,661 |
| 2025 | 6 | 11,404 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | 2,893 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3,681 |
| 2013 | 7 | 3,160 |
| 2014 | 19 | 1,562 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1,961 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,609 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,583 |
| 2018 | 3 | 5,666 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4,686 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2021 | 7 | 3,192 |
| 2022 | 7 | 3,148 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2,689 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4,192 |
| 2025 | 7 | 3,333 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 9 | 1,367 |
| 1999 | 3 | 2,943 |
| 2000 | 5 | 2,142 |
| 2002 | 9 | 1,519 |
| 2003 | 6 | 2,189 |
| 2004 | 10 | 1,596 |
| 2005 | 5 | 2,754 |
| 2006 | 9 | 1,892 |
| 2007 | 7 | 2,435 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2009 | 7 | 2,544 |
| 2010 | 4 | 3,865 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2013 | 4 | 3,822 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: كِيم
- Bulgarian: Ким
- Catalan: Quim
- Chinese: 金
- Danish: Kim
- Japanese: キム
- Norwegian: Kim
- Portuguese: Kim
- Russian: Ким
- Slovak: Kim
- Swedish: Kim
- Ukrainian: Кім
- Dutch: Kim

## People named Kim

- Kim Basinger, American actress (born 1953)
- Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
- Kim Campbell, 19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993
- Kim Novak, American actress
- Kim Cattrall, British–Canadian actress (born 1956)
- Kim Wilde, English pop singer (born 1960)
- Kim Hunter, American actress (1922-2002)
- Kim Stanley Robinson, American science fiction writer (born 1952)
- Kim Peek, American savant (1951–2009)
- Kim Carnes, American singer and songwriter
- Kim Delaney, American actress
- Kim Stanley, American actress (1925–2001)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.