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Kimberly

Girl name · 1,091 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Kimberly: 1,091 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 80 births in 1988.

Kimberly began as a place name, derived from the Old English elements *cyneburg* ("royal fortress") and *lēah* ("clearing, meadow")—the Kimberley estate in Norfolk, England. It gained traction as a given name after the Boer War, popularised by the siege of the South African diamond-mining town Kimberley. Famous bearers include actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, known for *Father of the Bride*, and singer Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud. The South African town, in turn, shares its name with the English estate, creating a full circle of geographical naming. A common variant is Kimberley, though the shorter Kimberly is far more frequent in Scotland, especially from the 1970s onward. Its rise and fall in popularity has closely tracked global cultural trends, making it a distinctly modern classic.