Kimberley
From an English surname meaning "royal forest" or "from the wood".
Name Census estimates that about 32,868 living Americans carry the first name Kimberley. It is a predominantly female name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Kimberley today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kimberley births was 1967 (2,008 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kimberley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kimberley with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kimberley is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 235 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Kimberley have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
33K
~ 1 in 10,428 Americans
Peak year
1967
2,008 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1974 SSA rank
#4,961
Tracked since 1941
Census
Kimberley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 33,057 people with the first name Kimberley, which placed it at #1,189 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,189
National first-name rank
People counted
33K
33,057 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
10.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kimberley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kimberley is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kimberley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kimberley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.0% · 25,783
- Black or African American9.9% · 3,278
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 2,013
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,281
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 486
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 216
Gender
Gender distribution for Kimberley
Out of the 38,256 babies given the name Kimberley since 1880, 99.4% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kimberley as a male name
- Ranked #4,961 in 1974
- 6 male births in 1974
- Peak: 1954 (26 births)
Kimberley as a female name
- Ranked #5,074 in 2024
- 26 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1967 (2,003 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kimberley appears almost entirely female. Of the 33,055 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kimberley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kimberley from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 16,343 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kimberley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kimberley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kimberleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Kimberley, while Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 703 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kimberley
The name Kimberley is an English given name derived from the Old English words "cy̆ne" meaning "royal" and "ber" meaning "grove" or "meadow." It originally referred to a royal meadow or a royal enclosure for deer. The name can be traced back to the 13th century in England, where it was first used as a place name.
In the late 16th century, the name Kimberley began to appear as a surname in England, often referring to someone who lived near or worked in a royal meadow or enclosure. It wasn't until the 19th century that the name started to be used as a given name for girls.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kimberley as a given name was in 1857, when Kimberley Browning was born in England. She was the daughter of a wealthy landowner and was named after the family's estate, which was called Kimberley.
Another notable bearer of the name was Kimberley Luker, an English actress born in 1888. She appeared in several plays and films in the early 20th century and was known for her beauty and talent.
In 1910, Kimberley Dougherty was born in Ireland. She later became a prominent author and poet, publishing several collections of poetry and short stories throughout her lifetime.
Kimberley Lund, an American aviator born in 1923, was one of the first women to fly for the United States Air Force during World War II. She served as a pilot and instructor, and her bravery and skill earned her numerous honors and awards.
Kimberley Chambers was a British writer and activist born in 1963. She wrote several novels and non-fiction works that explored themes of social justice, feminism, and human rights. Her books were widely acclaimed and she was a powerful voice for marginalized communities.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Kimberley. While the name has its origins in Old English and was initially used as a place name, it has since become a popular given name for girls, particularly in English-speaking countries.
People
Kimberley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kimberley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kimberley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kimberley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 32,868 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kimberley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 10,428 US residents.
Is Kimberley a common name?
We classify Kimberley as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 38,256 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kimberley most popular?
The single biggest year for Kimberley was 1967, when 2,008 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kimberley is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kimberley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 33,057 people with the name Kimberley, or 10.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,189 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kimberley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kimberley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kimberley appears almost entirely female. Of the 33,055 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kimberley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kimberley is White at 78.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Hispanic (6.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kimberley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kimberley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.0% (25,783 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kimberley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kimberley a female name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Kimberley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kimberley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kimberley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kimberley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Kimberley as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.