''Kimberley'' is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

. A variant form of the surname is ''Kimberly''. ''Kimberley'' is derived from any of several places in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

named ''Kimberley''. which cited: for the surnames "Kimberly", "Kimberley". However, several such places have differing etymologies. For example, the ''Kimberly'' in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

is derived from two

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

elements: the first is the feminine personal name ''Cyneburg''; the second element is ''lēah'', meaning "wood" or "clearing". which cited: The Kimberly in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

is similarly derived, although the personal name is ''Cynemær''. Likewise the Kimberly in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

is derived from the personal name ''Cynebold''. An early record of the surname is ''de Chineburlai'', in 1161; and ''de Kynmerley'', in 1300. The

Earls of Kimberley Earl of Kimberley, of Kimberley in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the prominent Liberal politician John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse. During his long political career, he n ...

derived their title from the place name in Norfolk. Their name gave rise to the like-named place Kimberley, in

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. From this South African place name comes the modern given names '' Kimberley'' and ''

Kimberly Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a c ...

''. Notable people with the surname include: *

Anna Kimberley Anna Kimberley (born 11 March 1995) is an English female professional squash player. She reached her highest career ranking of 82 in April 2018. References 1995 births Living people English female squash players Sportspeople from Ipswi ...

(born 1995), English female professional squash player * Barry Kimberley (born 1957), Australian rules footballer *

Eleazer Kimberly Eleazer Kimberly (November 17, 1639 - February 3, 1709)"Eleazer Kimberly"

(1639–1709), the sixth Secretary of the State of Connecticut *

John A. Kimberly John Alfred Kimberly (July 18, 1838 – January 21, 1928) was an American manufacturing executive, a founder of Kimberly-Clark Corporation of Neenah, Wisconsin. Born in Troy, New York, he moved with his family to Wisconsin at age nine and settled ...

(1838–1928), American manufacturing executive, a founder of Kimberly-Clark Corporation *

Jonathan Kimberley Jonathan Kimberley (7 June 1651 – 7 March 1720) was Dean of Lichfield from 1713 until his death. Born in Bromsgrove, Smallwood was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He migrated to Cambridge in 1776. He held livings at Stadhampton, C ...

DD (1651–1720), Dean of Lichfield from 1713 until his death *

Lawrence Kimberley Lawrence Kimberley (born 1962) was Dean of Christchurch from 2015 to 2023. Kimberley was also Curate at Church of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch then Vicar of Heathcote- Mount Pleasant. He was Archdeacon of Pegasus from 2006 to 2013. ...

(born 1962), Dean of Christchurch since 2015 *

Lewis Kimberly Rear Admiral Lewis Ashfield Kimberly (April 22, 1830 – January 28, 1902) was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the years following. Biography Early life and career Kimberly was born in Troy, New York, and ...

(1830–1902), United States Naval officer during the American Civil War *

Maria Kimberly Maria Kimberly (born July 21, 1944, as Mary Ann Kimmerle, 1943 or 1944) is a former American top model and actress. Biography She grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and, then, Columbus, Ohio. She was a top model in the late sixties and early sevent ...

(born 1943 or 1944), former American top model and actress *

Oliver Kimberley Oliver James Kimberley was an Anglican priest in the first half of the Twentieth century. Kimberley was educated at Moore Theological College; and ordained deacon in 1904, and priest in 1905. After a curacy at Wahroonga he was Rector of Erskin ...

, Anglican priest in the first half of the Twentieth century *

Patrícia Kimberly Patrícia Kimberly (born 6 January 1984) is a Brazilian sex worker. Career Kimberly began her career at as a prostitute in the nightclubs of São Paulo at age 18. In 2005, she began working on adult films. She is frequently invited to talk s ...

, born Gisele Barbosa (born 1984), Brazilian prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress *

Percy Kimberley Percy Cooke Kimberley (8 January 1878 – 10 December 1949) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Austral ...

(1878–1949), Australian rules footballer *

Ron Kimberley Ron Kimberley (15 July 1914 – 21 July 1981) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Kimberley, who came to Melbourne from Bendigo club Sandhurst, made 11 of his 15 league appearan ...

(1914–1981), Australian rules footballer *

Talis Kimberley Talis Kimberley is an English folk singer-songwriter, activist, and political figure based in Wiltshire, England. Her songs are narrative in nature and feature a mixture of mythology, green issues and everyday life approached from unexpected an ...

, British folk singer/songwriter, activist, and political figure *

Walter Kimberley Walter Kimberley (28 September 1884 – 22 April 1917) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa as a left back and right half. Personal life As of 1901 and 1904, Kimberley worked as an engraver ...

(1884–1917), English footballer

References

{{surname English toponymic surnames

See also

References