Kimberly (also Kimberley or Kimmberly) is a male and female

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

of Old English origin.

John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (7 January 18268 April 1902), known as The Lord Wodehouse from 1846 to 1866, was a British Liberal politician. He held office in every Liberal administration from 1852 to 1895, notably as Secretary of Stat ...

, a place in

Norfolk, England 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 North ...

, popularised the name by giving it to a town in South Africa and a region in Australia. The first element, '' Kimber'', reflects various Old English personal names; in the case of the Earldom in Norfolk this first appeared as Chineburlai in 1086 and seems to mean "clearing of a woman called Cyneburg (Cyneburga in Latin)". The second element is the Old English ''leah'' or ''leigh'' "meadow, clearing in a woodland"."Kimberley"
''Online Etymology Dictionary''

Origin of the given name

The given name ''Kimberley'' is derived from place of 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 ...

. This South African place name was named after Lord Kimberley in the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century, this place was the scene of fighting and a British victory during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and consequently the given name was popularised in the English-speaking world. The name of Lord Kimberley's title is derived from Kimberley, 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 ...

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 ...

. This place name 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 A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

''Cyneburg'', which means "royal fortress"; the second element is ''lēah'', which means "woodland" or "clearing". The place name roughly means: the "woodland clearing of the royal fortress." This place name was recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as ''Chineburlai''. which cited:

Variants

Kimberly is a

with many variants. ''Kimberley'' is used for males and females, while ''Kimberlee'', ''Kimberleigh'', and ''Kimberli'' are common feminine variant forms. The common Korean surname

Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

is not related to Kimberley.

Notable people

Kimberly Anyadike Kimberly Anyadike (born 1994) is an American pilot from Compton, California. In 2009, at the age of 15, she became the youngest African American woman to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States, from Los Angeles, California ...

(born 1994), Nigerian-American aviator *

Kimberly Brooks Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...

(born 1968), American voice actress *

Kimberly Brooks (artist) Kimberly Brooks () is an American artist and author. Her work blends figuration and abstraction with a focus on subjects related to memory, reality, history, representation, and identity. Early life and education Born in New York City as Kimberly ...

, American artist and author *

Kimberley Chen Kimberley Chen Fang-yu (born 23 May 1994) is an Australian singer, actress and model based in Taiwan. In 2009, she landed her first hit with the love ballad "愛你" (Aini, "Love You"). In 2012, she became a professional singer in Taiwan, sin ...

(born 1994), Australian-born, Taiwanese singer of Malaysian descent *

Kimberly B. Cheney Kimberly B. Cheney (born November 25, 1935, in Manchester, CT) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Vermont's Attorney General from 1973 to 1975. Early life and career Kimberly B. Cheney is one of four sons born to Kimberly Chen ...

(born 1935), American lawyer *

Kim Chiu Kimberly Sue Yap Chiu (; born April 19, 1990), professionally known as Kim Chiu, is a Filipino actress, model, host, singer, dancer, and vlogger. She is currently managed by Star Magic, ABS-CBN's home-based talent agency. Recognized as one o ...

(born 1990), Filipino actress, singer *

Kimberley Cooper Kimberley Cooper (born 24 April 1980) is an Australian television actress known for her character of Gypsy Nash on the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. Early life Kimberley Cooper was born on 24 April 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales, A ...

(born 1980), Australian actress * Kimberly Davis (born 1974), American professional wrestler known by her ring name "

Amber O'Neal Kimberly Dawn Davis (born June 22, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Amber O’Neal. She formerly wrestled in Ring of Honor (ROH) in their "Women of Honor" division as well as various promotions on the U. ...

" *

Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989. Deal joined Pixies in January ...

(born 1961), American musician *

Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967) is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in '' Set It Off'' (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in ''Beloved'' (1998). During her career, ...

(born 1967), American actress *

Kimberly Goss Kimberly Goss is an American singer and keyboardist, best known as frontwoman and co-founder of the Finnish metal band Sinergy. Early life Goss was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Korean father and a German mother who worked as a jazz si ...

(born 1978), American singer of Korean descent *

Kim Guadagno Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nominee f ...

(born 1959), New Jersey politician *

Kimberly Guilfoyle Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle ( ; born March 9, 1969) is an American television news personality and former prosecuting attorney in San Francisco. A Republican, she became an advisor to the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Guilfoyle ...

(born 1969), American news reporter *

Kimberly Hampton Kimberly Nicole Hampton (August 18, 1976 – January 2, 2004) was a captain in the United States Army and the first female military pilot in United States history to be shot down and killed as a result of hostile fire. She was also the first wom ...

(1976-2004), United States Army officer *

Kimberly Hart-Simpson Kimberly Hart-Simpson (born 28 May 1987) is a Welsh actress and businesswoman, known for portraying the role of Nicky Wheatley in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. As well as being the founder of the fashion company Hart-Work, she has ...

(born 1987), Welsh actress and businesswoman *

Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of ...

(born 1954), Australian cricketer *

Kimberly Jones Kimberly Latrice Jones () is an American author known for co-authoring the book ''I'm Not Dying With You Tonight'' and for the viral video ''How Can We Win'' published during the George Floyd protests. ''I'm Not Dying with You Tonight'' Jones ...

, American author * Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian (born 1980), American entertainer * Kimberly Keeton, American computer scientist *

Kim Matula Kimberly Marie Matula (born August 23, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for playing Hope Logan on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from 2010 to 2016, and for playing Ronnie on the 2018 Fox comedy series ''LA to ...

(born 1988), American actress *

Kimberly Poore Moser Kimberly Poore Moser (born June 8, 1962) is an American politician who has served in the Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Repres ...

(born 1962), American politician from Kentucky *

Kimberley Nixon Kimberley Nixon (born 24 September 1985) is a Welsh actor, actress. Nixon is known for her role as Sophy Hutton in the BBC One period drama ''Cranford (TV series), Cranford'', and appearances in various films such as ''Wild Child (film), Wild C ...

(born 1986), Welsh actress * Kimberly A. Novick, American environmental scientist *

Kymberly Pine Kymberly Marcos Pine (born September 8, 1970) is an American politician and Democrat who served two terms on the Honolulu City Council representing District 1 from 2013 to 2021. She was the Chair of the Council Committee on Business, Economic De ...

(born 1970), State of Hawaii House of Representatives * Kimberly Powers, American epidemiologist *

Kimberley Rew Kimberley Charles Rew (born 3 December 1951) is an English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as a member of Katrina and the Waves from 1981 to 1999 and of Robyn Hitchcock's Soft Boys from 1978 to 1981. Two of his better-kno ...

(born 1951), British guitarist and singer in

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band widely known for the 1985 hit " Walking on Sunshine". They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Love Shine a Light". History Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest inc ...

* Kimberly “Kim” Rhode (born 1979), American double trap and skeet shooter *

Kim Shattuck Kimberly Dianne Shattuck (July 17, 1963 – October 2, 2019) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the American punk rock band the Muffs, which formed in 1991. From ...

(1963-2019), American musician * Kim Taylor (born 1978), American politician from Virginia *

Kimberly Tuck Kimberly Tuck ( Veale; born September 25, 1974) is a Canadian curling, curler from Strathroy, Ontario. She is a former Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, Canadian Mixed Doubles Champion, having won the 2014 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curlin ...

(born 1974), Canadian curler *

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...

(born 1981), English singer in the girl band

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

Kimberly Williams-Paisley Kimberly Payne Williams-Paisley (née Williams; born September 14, 1971) is an American actress known for her co-starring roles on ''According to Jim'' and '' Nashville,'' as well as her breakthrough performance in '' Father of the Bride'' (199 ...

(born 1971), American actress *

Kimberley Anne Woltemas Kimberley Anne Woltemas Tiamsiri ( th, คิมเบอร์ลี แอน โวลเทมัส เทียมศิริ; born January 22, 1992) is a Thai actress and model. She made her breakthrough in acting career after she played ...

(born 1992), Thai actress and model *

Kimberly Wyatt Kimberly Kaye Wyatt (born February 4, 1982) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She is a former member of the pop/ R&B girl group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls. She is also a member of the ...

(born 1982), member of

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

Kim Zolciak-Biermann Kimberleigh Marie Zolciak-Biermann ( Zolciak; born May 19, 1978) is an American television personality and singer. In 2008, she appeared as one of the original housewives on the reality television series '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta.'' Zolc ...

(born 1978), American singer and reality star from ''

The Real Housewives of Atlanta ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...

'' * Kitty Brucknell (born Kimberley Dayle Edwards, 1984), English singer-songwriter *

Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Ratcliff (''née'' Marsh, previously Ryder and Lomas; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television ser ...

(born 1976), English actress *

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...

(born Kimberley Denise Jones, 1974), singer

Fictional characters

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The title character is a teenage girl tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while coping wi ...

, a character in the television series of the same name *

Kimberly Andrews A list of notable characters from the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' that made their first appearance between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2009. Kimberly Andrews Kimberly Andrews (born Aubrey Wentworth) is a fictional charact ...

on the television series ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' * Kimberly "Kim" Bauer, a character in the television series '' 24'' * Kimberly "Kim" Burgess, a character in the television series

Chicago P.D. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind th ...

Kimberly Corman Kimberly Corman is a fictional character in the ''Final Destination'' series, portrayed by A. J. Cook. Kimberly serves as the protagonist of ''Final Destination 2''. She is a college student from White Plains, New York, and is one of the survivor ...

, a character in the film ''

Final Destination 2 ''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis. The screenplay was written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and series creator Jeffrey Reddick. It is the seq ...

'' *

Kimberly Hart Kimberly Ann Hart is a fictional character in the ''Power Rangers'' universe. Played by American actress Amy Jo Johnson during the first three seasons of the show, plus on the two feature films of the franchise, Kimberly has the longest tenure of ...

, a character in the ''

Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...

'' franchise * Kimberly "Kim" Hyde, a character in the television series ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'' * Kimberly "Kim" Pine, a character in the series of graphic stories ''

Scott Pilgrim ''Scott Pilgrim'' is a series of graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series is about Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario, and plays bass ‍in a band. He fal ...

'' * Kimberly Cougar "Kimmy" Schmidt, a character in the television series ''

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 20 ...

'' *

Kimberly Shaw The following is a list of cast and characters from the original and updated versions of the '' Melrose Place'' television series. Cast timeline ;Cast notes Main cast members Jane Mancini Jane is portrayed by Josie Bissett. See main articl ...

in the television series ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

'' * Kimberly Swan (commonly referred to as Ki Swan), a character in the web television series ''

Video Game High School ''Video Game High School'' (often abbreviated ''VGHS'') is an American action comedy web series from RocketJump Studios. It was written by Matthew Arnold, Will Campos and Brian Firenzi and directed by Matthew Arnold, Brandon Laatsch, and Freddie ...

'' * Kimberly "Kim" Wexler, a character in the television series ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimberly (Given Name) Given names Feminine given names English feminine given names English-language feminine given names English-language unisex given names

Origin of the given name

Variants

Notable people

Fictional characters

See also

References