At a glance
- In short
- Kimberly comes from Kimberley, a South African city named after Lord Kimberley.
- U.S. rank 2025
- #302 of girl names
- Babies in 2025
- 1,009 (0.057% of girls)
- Trend
- Slipping #185 in 2020 to #302 in 2025
- Peak
- #2 in 1966–1967
- First recorded
- 1933
Meaning of Kimberly
Kimberly comes from Kimberley, the South African diamond-mining city named after the British colonial secretary Lord Kimberley. His title came from a Norfolk village whose Old English name combines the personal name Cyneburg with leah, meaning wood or clearing. It became a given name around the time of the Boer War, initially for boys.
It is pronounced KIM-bur-lee, with the r usually silent in British English. Kim and Kimmie are familiar short forms. Well-known namesakes include actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, of Father of the Bride, and volleyball player Kimberly Hill, an Olympic gold medalist.
In the U.S., Kimberly climbed from No. 707 in 1946 to No. 2 in 1966 and 1967, and its highest count came in 1970, with 34,130 babies. It is far less common now, ranking 302nd in 2025 with 1,009 babies.
How to pronounce Kimberly
English
- Pronounced KIM-bur-lee /ˈkɪmbərli/
Popularity of Kimberly in the U.S.
Kimberly was the #302 girl name in the U.S. in 2025, with 1,009 babies. It peaked at #2 in 1966–1967 and has been in the top 1,000 since 1946. It first appears in the records in 1933.
- Rank among U.S. girl names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 1933–2025 93 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,009 | 302 | ▼ 55 |
| 2024 | 1,286 | 247 | ▼ 25 |
| 2023 | 1,338 | 222 | ▼ 11 |
| 2022 | 1,392 | 211 | ▲ 9 |
| 2021 | 1,351 | 220 | ▼ 35 |
| 2020 | 1,560 | 185 | ▲ 11 |
| 2019 | 1,537 | 196 | ▼ 23 |
| 2018 | 1,705 | 173 | ▼ 9 |
| 2017 | 1,840 | 164 | ▼ 31 |
| 2016 | 2,332 | 133 | ▼ 25 |
| 2015 | 2,843 | 108 | ▼ 1 |
| 2014 | 2,902 | 107 | ▼ 6 |
| 2013 | 3,105 | 101 | ▼ 13 |
| 2012 | 3,317 | 88 | ▼ 21 |
| 2011 | 3,812 | 67 | ▲ 2 |
| 2010 | 3,871 | 69 | ▼ 3 |
| 2009 | 4,228 | 66 | ▼ 9 |
| 2008 | 4,814 | 57 | ▼ 3 |
| 2007 | 5,103 | 54 | ▲ 4 |
| 2006 | 5,011 | 58 | ▲ 5 |
| 2005 | 4,752 | 63 | ▼ 2 |
| 2004 | 4,847 | 61 | ▲ 3 |
| 2003 | 4,825 | 64 | ▼ 1 |
| 2002 | 4,790 | 63 | ▼ 2 |
| 2001 | 4,880 | 61 | ▼ 3 |
| 2000 | 5,244 | 58 | ▼ 7 |
| 1999 | 5,457 | 51 | ▲ 3 |
| 1998 | 5,722 | 54 | ▼ 5 |
| 1997 | 6,182 | 49 | ▼ 8 |
| 1996 | 7,176 | 41 | ▼ 4 |
| 1995 | 7,745 | 37 | ▼ 5 |
| 1994 | 8,747 | 32 | ▲ 7 |
| 1993 | 7,965 | 39 | ▼ 4 |
| 1992 | 8,895 | 35 | ▼ 1 |
| 1991 | 9,799 | 34 | ▼ 3 |
| 1990 | 10,191 | 31 | ▼ 3 |
| 1989 | 11,037 | 28 | ▼ 3 |
| 1988 | 11,948 | 25 | ▼ 2 |
| 1987 | 13,031 | 23 | ▼ 5 |
| 1986 | 14,420 | 18 | ▲ 1 |
| 1985 | 14,914 | 19 | ▲ 3 |
| 1984 | 14,445 | 22 | ▼ 7 |
| 1983 | 15,370 | 15 | ▼ 1 |
| 1982 | 16,101 | 14 | ▼ 1 |
| 1981 | 16,689 | 13 | ▼ 2 |
| 1980 | 18,497 | 11 | ▲ 1 |
| 1979 | 17,635 | 12 | ▲ 1 |
| 1978 | 16,879 | 13 | ▼ 5 |
| 1977 | 18,286 | 8 | ▼ 1 |
| 1976 | 18,962 | 7 | – |
| 1975 | 20,257 | 7 | ▼ 1 |
| 1974 | 22,427 | 6 | ▼ 2 |
| 1973 | 23,531 | 4 | – |
| 1972 | 26,282 | 4 | – |
| 1971 | 30,708 | 4 | ▼ 1 |
| 1970 | 34,130 | 3 | ▲ 1 |
| 1969 | 33,077 | 4 | ▼ 1 |
| 1968 | 31,906 | 3 | ▼ 1 |
| 1967 | 33,097 | 2 | – |
| 1966 | 32,232 | 2 | ▲ 2 |
| 1965 | 28,836 | 4 | ▲ 2 |
| 1964 | 24,128 | 6 | ▲ 5 |
| 1963 | 21,224 | 11 | ▲ 5 |
| 1962 | 20,363 | 16 | ▲ 6 |
| 1961 | 17,355 | 22 | ▲ 4 |
| 1960 | 16,854 | 26 | ▲ 7 |
| 1959 | 12,790 | 33 | ▲ 6 |
| 1958 | 10,710 | 39 | ▲ 3 |
| 1957 | 9,454 | 42 | ▲ 32 |
| 1956 | 6,730 | 74 | ▲ 37 |
| 1955 | 3,862 | 111 | ▲ 57 |
| 1954 | 2,087 | 168 | ▲ 41 |
| 1953 | 1,428 | 209 | ▲ 45 |
| 1952 | 966 | 254 | ▲ 112 |
| 1951 | 486 | 366 | ▲ 16 |
| 1950 | 445 | 382 | ▲ 33 |
| 1949 | 362 | 415 | ▲ 35 |
| 1948 | 315 | 450 | ▲ 70 |
| 1947 | 255 | 520 | ▲ 187 |
| 1946 | 130 | 707 | ▲ 914 |
| 1945 | 26 | 1,621 | ▲ 246 |
| 1944 | 21 | 1,867 | ▲ 212 |
| 1943 | 18 | 2,079 | ▼ 411 |
| 1942 | 25 | 1,668 | ▼ 58 |
| 1941 | 24 | 1,610 | ▲ 687 |
| 1940 | 13 | 2,297 | ▲ 295 |
| 1939 | 11 | 2,592 | ▲ 138 |
| 1938 | 10 | 2,730 | ▲ 1,070 |
| 1937 | 6 | 3,800 | ▲ 381 |
| 1936 | 5 | 4,181 | ▼ 750 |
| 1935 | 7 | 3,431 | ▲ 371 |
| 1934 | 6 | 3,802 | ▼ 396 |
| 1933 | 7 | 3,406 | new |
Kimberly by state
Kimberly ranks #180 in Rhode Island (2025).
Rank by state 35 states
| State | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 180 | 5 |
| Texas | 185 | 178 |
| Florida | 189 | 97 |
| Maryland | 189 | 27 |
| Mississippi | 196 | 13 |
| Alabama | 201 | 22 |
| California | 226 | 149 |
| Oklahoma | 247 | 16 |
| Tennessee | 250 | 31 |
| Louisiana | 271 | 16 |
| Washington | 273 | 26 |
| Illinois | 312 | 34 |
| Oregon | 320 | 11 |
| New York | 326 | 52 |
| Nebraska | 335 | 6 |
| New Jersey | 339 | 24 |
| Virginia | 345 | 23 |
| Kansas | 361 | 9 |
| South Carolina | 373 | 13 |
| Nevada | 374 | 7 |
| Georgia | 380 | 29 |
| Pennsylvania | 403 | 27 |
| Massachusetts | 417 | 13 |
| Wisconsin | 420 | 12 |
| Arkansas | 425 | 7 |
| Utah | 440 | 9 |
| North Carolina | 442 | 25 |
| Kentucky | 443 | 9 |
| Arizona | 446 | 15 |
| Indiana | 511 | 13 |
| Missouri | 516 | 11 |
| Colorado | 536 | 10 |
| Ohio | 622 | 16 |
| Minnesota | 659 | 7 |
| Michigan | 735 | 10 |
Notable people named Kimberly
- American neuroscientist and pediatrician Kimberly G. Noble studies how socioeconomic factors shape children’s cognitive development and serves as a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, directing the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development Lab.
- Kimberly Bryant is an American electrical engineer who worked in biotech and in 2011 founded Black Girls Code to teach technology to African American girls, later earning a spot on the Business Insider list of 25 most influential African Americans in technology.
- Kimberly Maria Brandão is an American-born Portuguese retired footballer who captained the Portugal women's national team, won national championships with the Western New York Flash, and formerly coached at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.
- At 15 in 2009, Kimberly Ndidi Anyadike of Compton became the youngest African American woman to complete a transcontinental US flight, flying a single-engine Cessna with a safety pilot and a retired Air Force pilot who had served with the WWII Tuskegee Airmen.
- Kimberly Hill is an American former outside hitter who won 2014 World Championship gold, 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold, and 2016 Rio Olympic bronze with the United States national team.
More people named Kimberly 9 more
- Kimberly Nicole Hampton, a US Army captain, was the first female military pilot in US history killed by hostile fire and the first South Carolina woman to die in the Iraq War.
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley is an American actress known for her roles in According to Jim, Nashville, and Father of the Bride.
- Kimberly Susan Budil is an American physicist and the first woman to direct Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, known for advances in high power ultrafast lasers and advocacy for women in science.
- Kimberly Goss is an American former singer and keyboardist best known as the frontwoman and co-founder of the Finnish metal band Sinergy from 1997 to 2004.
- Kimberly Pita Quinn is an American actress, writer, and producer who co-wrote and starred in Winding Roads, later produced and appeared in St. Vincent, Hidden Figures, and The Starling, and owns Goldenlight Films with her husband, director Theodore Melfi.
- Kimberly Kimble is an American hair stylist from Chicago, best known for WE tv series LA Hair, now leading the hair department on the HBO series Euphoria and styling stars like Beyonce and Zendaya.
- Kimberly Raye is a Texas-based American author of romance and paranormal fiction, best known for the Dead End Dating series and Harlequin titles, and she has also written as Kimberly Randell.
- Kimberly Godwin is an American TV executive and journalist who worked at CBS News from 2007 to 2021, became ABC News president in 2021 as the first Black woman to lead a major US broadcast news network, and announced plans to resign in May 2024.
- Kimberly Willis Holt is an American children’s author best known for When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, which won the 1999 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and was adapted into a 2003 film.