# Kimberley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/kimberley/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “from old english cyne- (“royal”, “fortress”, “leigh”, “clearing” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɪmbɚli/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Kimi |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 38,278 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 235 / 38,043 (99% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5,202, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

English place name "wood or clearing of Kyneburga (a seventh century female saint)", from Old English cyne- (“royal”) + burh (“fortress”) + lēah (“leigh, clearing”).

## 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 | 63 | 2,785 |
| 2012 | 55 | 3,063 |
| 2013 | 60 | 2,859 |
| 2014 | 58 | 2,955 |
| 2015 | 44 | 3,564 |
| 2016 | 42 | 3,679 |
| 2017 | 25 | 5,255 |
| 2018 | 37 | 3,970 |
| 2019 | 26 | 5,108 |
| 2020 | 24 | 5,248 |
| 2021 | 22 | 5,667 |
| 2022 | 14 | 7,860 |
| 2023 | 20 | 6,070 |
| 2024 | 26 | 5,087 |
| 2025 | 21 | 5,828 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 5 | 4,294 |
| 1960 | 6 | 3,864 |
| 1961 | 5 | 4,378 |
| 1962 | 12 | 2,451 |
| 1963 | 10 | 2,774 |
| 1964 | 8 | 3,163 |
| 1965 | 11 | 2,553 |
| 1966 | 9 | 2,889 |
| 1967 | 5 | 4,273 |
| 1968 | 8 | 3,250 |
| 1969 | 9 | 3,202 |
| 1970 | 7 | 4,059 |
| 1971 | 9 | 3,535 |
| 1972 | 5 | 5,389 |
| 1974 | 6 | 4,961 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 95 | 447 |
| 2012 | 98 | 458 |
| 2013 | 90 | 466 |
| 2014 | 75 | 563 |
| 2015 | 53 | 735 |
| 2016 | 58 | 703 |
| 2017 | 41 | 915 |
| 2018 | 37 | 972 |
| 2019 | 39 | 920 |
| 2020 | 33 | 1,013 |
| 2021 | 24 | 1,311 |
| 2022 | 21 | 1,452 |
| 2023 | 13 | 2,063 |
| 2024 | 14 | 2,000 |
| 2025 | 13 | 2,138 |

## People named Kimberley

- Kimberley Walsh, British singer and actress
- Kimberley Joseph, Australian film director
- Kimberley Nixon, British actress
- Kimberley Locke, American singer-songwriter
- Kimberley Woods, British slalom canoeist
- Kimberley Zimmermann, Belgian tennis player
- Kimberley Davies, Australian actress
- Kimberley Chen, Australian singer (1994-)
- Kimberley McRae, Canadian luger
- James Corden, English actor, comedian, singer and television host (born 1978)
- Kim Brennan, Australian rower
- Kim Mickle, Australian javelin thrower

## 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.