Kimberly
Kimberley in South Africa, the diamond town named for a British colonial secretary, itself from an English place name.
Popularity, 1880–2025
From Kimberley, the South African diamond city; British soldiers brought it home as a name during the Boer War, and Americans sent it to the top 5 in the 1960s.
Kimberly first shows up in the national records in 1933. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1956 to 2012. It spent 14 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1970, when 34,130 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 3 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1966, at No. 2. In 2025 it ranked No. 302 for girls. All told, 850,666 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Kimberley (38,278), Kimberlee (17,690), Kimberli (3,942), Kimberlie (3,678), Kymberly (3,046), Kimberely (2,300) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Kim
Explore Kimberly interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 52 | No. 2592 |
| 1940s | 1,189 | No. 415 |
| 1950s | 48,958 | No. 33 |
| 1960s | 259,072 | No. 2 |
| 1970s | 229,097 | No. 3 |
| 1980s | 146,452 | No. 11 |
| 1990s | 77,879 | No. 31 |
| 2000s | 48,494 | No. 54 |
| 2010s | 27,264 | No. 67 |
| 2020s | 7,936 | No. 185 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.