girls' name ★ peaked 1970

Kimberly

Meaning Variant spelling of Kimberley Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #303 Trend ↓ Falling 22%

Variant spelling of Kimberley.

Rank 2025
#303
among girls · ↓56 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,009
named Kimberly · -22% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,593
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1970
34,243 babies
All-time total
850,666
#21 all-time among girls
First recorded
1933
in Social Security records

Kimberly popularity over time

850,666 babies have been named Kimberly since 1933, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
6.2512.518.752518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 52 – 52 5 – #2,669
1940s 1,189 93 1,282 128 +2365% #415
1950s 48,958 1,238 50,196 5,020 +3815% #33
1960s 259,072 1,054 260,126 26,013 +418% #2
1970s 229,097 858 229,955 22,996 -12% #3
1980s 146,452 627 147,079 14,708 -36% #11
1990s 77,879 245 78,124 7,812 -47% #31
2000s 48,494 116 48,610 4,861 -38% #54
2010s 27,264 36 27,300 2,730 -44% #67
2020s (to 2025) 7,936 6 7,942 1,324 -52% #186

Where Kimberly is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 965 0.60 #316
2027 929 0.58 #331
2028 900 0.56 #338
2029 876 0.54 #347
2030 855 0.53 #355

Where Kimberly is most popular

Girls named Kimberly per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.786 per 1,000. Strongest in Nebraska, Maryland, and New Mexico.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kimberly born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Nebraska 56 1.56 +98%
Maryland 162 1.53 +95%
New Mexico 37 1.52 +94%
Rhode Island 18 1.44 +83%
California 1,103 1.31 +67%
Texas 1,041 1.29 +65%
Nevada 60 1.29 +64%
District of Columbia 15 1.27 +61%
Alabama 115 1.22 +56%
Oklahoma 85 1.15 +47%
Arizona 161 1.15 +46%
Kansas 61 1.06 +35%
Florida 446 1.04 +33%
Kentucky 89 1.04 +32%
Washington 145 1.00 +28%
Tennessee 159 1.00 +28%
New Jersey 181 1.00 +28%
Virginia 170 0.997 +27%
Arkansas 52 0.984 +25%
Oregon 64 0.983 +25%
Utah 80 0.961 +22%
Georgia 217 0.955 +22%
South Carolina 80 0.890 +13%
Illinois 199 0.869 +11%
Mississippi 40 0.855 +9%
Colorado 95 0.851 +8%
New York 333 0.841 +7%
North Carolina 184 0.808 ≈ national
Idaho 27 0.807 ≈ national
Indiana 95 0.677 -14%
Louisiana 57 0.651 -17%
Massachusetts 76 0.629 -20%
Wisconsin 64 0.621 -21%
Iowa 36 0.616 -22%
Pennsylvania 135 0.571 -27%
Connecticut 32 0.550 -30%
Missouri 58 0.481 -39%
Michigan 81 0.445 -43%
Delaware 5 0.441 -44%
Minnesota 46 0.426 -46%
South Dakota 6 0.420 -47%
Ohio 99 0.417 -47%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kimberly

Kimberly is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #303 in 2025 with 1,009 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1933, 850,666 American babies have been named Kimberly. Its peak came in 1970, when 34,243 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1970s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kimberly stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kimberly?

The median living Kimberly is about 51 years old; half are between 39 and 58. An estimated 803 thousand people named Kimberly are alive in the United States today.

median 51 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kimberly year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,009 #303 – –
2024 1,286 #247 – –
2023 1,338 #222 – –
2022 1,392 #211 – –
2021 1,351 #221 6 #11,520
2020 1,560 #186 – –
2019 1,537 #196 6 #11,530
2018 1,705 #173 – –
2017 1,840 #164 – –
2016 2,332 #133 – –
2015 2,843 #108 6 #11,481
2014 2,902 #107 – –
2013 3,105 #101 5 #13,184
2012 3,317 #88 10 #7,878
2011 3,812 #67 – –
2010 3,871 #69 9 #8,490
2009 4,228 #66 – –
2008 4,814 #57 15 #5,943
2007 5,103 #54 16 #5,572
2006 5,011 #58 12 #6,704
2005 4,752 #63 8 #8,744
2004 4,847 #61 20 #4,352
2003 4,825 #64 16 #4,942
2002 4,790 #63 8 #8,102
2001 4,880 #61 11 #6,256
2000 5,244 #58 10 #6,610
1995 7,745 #37 19 #3,505
1990 10,191 #31 36 #2,063
1985 14,914 #19 54 #1,311
1980 18,497 #11 83 #995
1975 20,257 #7 82 #909
1970 34,130 #3 113 #778
1965 28,836 #4 121 #678
1960 16,854 #26 97 #774
1955 3,862 #111 177 #553
1950 445 #382 39 #1,152
1945 26 #1,634 – –
1940 13 #2,363 5 #3,716
1935 7 #3,590 – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kimberly

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Kimberly Williams-Paisley Kimberly Williams-Paisley American actress and director (b. 1971) Contemporary
  2. 2 Kimberly Wyatt Kimberly Wyatt British-American singer (born 1982) Contemporary
  3. 3 Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise American actress b. 1967 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Kimberly Kane Kimberly Kane American pornographic film actress b. 1983 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Kimberly Goss Kimberly Goss American heavy metal singer (born 1978) Contemporary
  6. 6 Kimberly Peirce Kimberly Peirce American film director (born 1967) Contemporary
  7. 7 Kimberly Caldwell Kimberly Caldwell American singer and TV hostess b. 1982 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kimberly, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kimberly?

The median living Kimberly is about 51 years old. Half of all living Kimberlys are between 39 and 58 years old.

How many people named Kimberly are alive today?

An estimated 803 thousand people named Kimberly are alive in the United States, based on 850,666 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kimberly mean?

Variant spelling of Kimberley.

How popular is the name Kimberly in 2025?

Kimberly ranked #303 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,009 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kimberly?

850,666 babies have been named Kimberly in the United States since 1933, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kimberly most popular?

Kimberly peaked in 1970, when 34,243 newborns received the name.

Is Kimberly a boy or girl name?

Kimberly is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kimberly rising or falling?

Kimberly is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Kimberly become more popular?

Kimberly is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 855 girls named Kimberly in 2030, which would rank around #355. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kimberly?

Well-known people named Kimberly include Kimberly Williams-Paisley (actor), Kimberly Wyatt (actor), Kimberly Elise (actor).

Names like Kimberly

Names that sound and feel close to Kimberly: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kimberly with similar names → More names starting with K →