Kimberly (given name)

Kimberly (also Kimberley or Kimberlee) is a predominantly unisex given name of Old English origin. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, a place in Norfolk, England, 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".

Origin of the given name
The given name Kimberley is derived from place of Kimberley, in Northern Cape, South Africa. 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, 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, England. This place name is derived from two Old English elements: the first is the feminine personal name 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 of 1086 as Chineburlai.

Variants
Kimberly is a given name 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 is not related to Kimberley.

Woman

 * Kimberly Anyadike (born 1994), Nigerian-American aviator
 * Kimberly Birrell (born 1998), Australian tennis player
 * Kimberly Brooks (born 1968), American voice actress
 * Kimberly Brooks (artist), American artist and author
 * Kimberly Browne, New Zealand architect
 * Kimberley Chen (born 1994), Australian-born, Taiwanese singer of Malaysian descent
 * Kim Chiu (born 1990 as Kimberly Sue Yap Chiu), Filipino actress, host, model and singer
 * Kimberley Cooper (born 1980), Australian actress
 * Kimberley Davies (born 1973), Australian actress
 * Kimberly Davis (born 1974), American professional wrestler known by her ring name Amber O'Neal
 * Kim Deal (born 1961), American musician
 * Kimberly Dos Ramos (born 1992), Venezuelan actress and model
 * Kimberly Elise (born 1967), American actress
 * Kimberly Andrews Espy, American academic administrator and neuropsychologist
 * Kimberly Goss (born 1978), American singer of Korean descent
 * Kim Guadagno (born 1959), New Jersey politician
 * Kimberly Guilfoyle (born 1969), American news reporter
 * Kimberly Hampton (1976-2004), United States Army officer
 * Kimberly Hart-Simpson (born 1987), Welsh actress and businesswoman
 * Kimberly Hill (born 1989), American former professional volleyball player
 * Kimberly Jones, American author
 * Kimberley Joseph, (born 1973), Canadian Australian actress
 * Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian (born 1980), American entertainer
 * Kimberly Keeton, American computer scientist
 * Kim Matula (born 1988), American actress
 * Kimberly Poore Moser (born 1962), American politician from Kentucky
 * Kimberly New, American politician from Georgia
 * Kimberley Nixon (born 1986), Welsh actress
 * Kimberly A. Novick, American environmental scientist
 * Kymberly Pine (born 1970), State of Hawaii House of Representatives
 * Kimberly Pomerleau, American politician
 * Kimberly Powers, American epidemiologist
 * Kimberly “Kim” Rhode (born 1979), American double trap and skeet shooter
 * Kim Shattuck (1963-2019), American musician
 * Kimberly Stevenson, American businesswoman
 * Kim Taylor (born 1978), American politician from Virginia
 * Kimberly Tuck (born 1974), Canadian curler
 * Kimberley Walsh (born 1981), English singer in the girl band Girls Aloud
 * Kimberly Williams-Paisley (born 1971), American actress
 * Kimberley Anne Woltemas (born 1992), Thai actress and model
 * Kimberly Wyatt (born 1982), member of The Pussycat Dolls
 * Kim Zolciak-Biermann (born 1978), American singer and reality star from The Real Housewives of Atlanta
 * Kitty Brucknell (born Kimberley Dayle Edwards, 1984), English singer-songwriter
 * Kym Marsh (born 1976), English actress
 * Lil' Kim (born Kimberley Denise Jones, 1974), singer

Men

 * Kimberly B. Cheney (born 1935), American lawyer
 * Kim Hughes (born 1954), Australian cricketer
 * Kimberley Rew (born 1951), British guitarist and singer in Katrina and the Waves
 * Kim Williams (media executive) (born 1952), Australian media executive
 * Kimberly Ezekwem (born 2001), German footballer
 * Kimberly G. Smith (born 1948-2018), American biologist
 * Kimberly John Young (born 1951), Canadian politician
 * Kimberly Benston (born 1953), American historian
 * Kim Belton (born 1958), American basketball player
 * Kim Moyes (born 1976), Australian musician

Fictional characters

 * Kim Possible, a character in the television series of the same name
 * Kimberly Andrews on the television series One Life to Live
 * Kimberly "Kim" Bauer, a character in the television series 24
 * Kimberly Brady, a character on the television series Days of Our Lives
 * Kimberly "Kim" Burgess, a character in the television series Chicago P.D.
 * Kimberly Corman, a character in the film Final Destination 2
 * Kimberly Hart, a character in the Power Rangers franchise
 * Kimberly "Kim" Hyde, a character in the television series Home and Away
 * Kimberly "Kim" Pine, a character in the series of graphic stories Scott Pilgrim
 * Kimberly Cougar "Kimmy" Schmidt, a character in the television series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
 * Kimberly Shaw in the television series Melrose Place
 * Kimberly Swan (commonly referred to as Ki Swan), a character in the web television series Video Game High School
 * Kimberly "Kim" Wexler, a character in the television series Better Call Saul
 * Kimberly, a girl in the Nickelodeon animated series Catscratch