Kimberly (given name)
| Kimberly | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Pronunciation |
/ˈkɪmbərli/ /kɪmˈbɛərli/ |
| Gender | Feminine |
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old English |
| Word/name | Combination of Kimber and leigh |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, Kimberli, Kimberlie, Kimberley[1] |
| Short form(s) | Kim, Kimmy |
| See also | Kimberley (surname) |
Kimberly is a female 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, reflect 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". The second element is the Old English leah or leigh "meadow, clearing in a woodland".[2] A variant spelling of the name is Kimberley.[1]
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 a Lord Kimberley in the 19th century.[1] 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".[1][3] 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.[3]
Variants
Kimberly is a given name with many variants. Kimberley is used for males and females, while Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, Kimberli and Kimberlie are common feminine variant forms.[1]
The variant Kym is also common with males.
The common Korean surname Kim is not related to Kimberley.
People with this name
- Kimberley Chen, Australian-born, Taiwanese singer of Malaysian descent.
- Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer
- Kim Coates (born 1958), Canadian actor
- Kimberly Davis, Rett syndrome advocate and wrestler who goes by the stage name "Amber O'Neal"
- Kimberley Dayle Edwards, a.k.a. Kitty Brucknell, English singer-songwriter
- Kimberly Elise, American actress
- Kimberly Guilfoyle, American TV news reporter
- Kimberly Goss (born 1978), American singer of Korean descent
- Kimberley "Kim" Hughes, Australian cricketer
- Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian, American entertainer
- Kym Marsh, English actress
- Kim Matula, American actress
- Kimberley Nixon, Welsh actress
- Kim Novak, American actress
- Kim O'Brien, American actress
- Kymberly Pine, State of Hawaii House of Representatives
- Kimberley Rew, English singer-songwriter
- Kimberley Walsh, English singer in the girl band Girls Aloud
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley, American actress
- Kimberly Wyatt, member of The Pussycat Dolls
Fictional characters
- Kimberly Bauer, a character in the television series 24
- Kimberly Corman, a character in the film Final Destination 2
- Kimberly Hart, a character in the Power Rangers franchise
- Kimberly Hyde, a character in the television series Home and Away
- Kim Pine, a character in the series of graphic stories Scott Pilgrim
- Kim Possible, a character in the television series of the same name
- Kimberly Shaw in the television series Melrose Place
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 159, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- ↑ Kimberley, Online Etymology Dictionary
- 1 2 Kimberley, Encyclopedia.com, retrieved 8 December 2010 which cited: Mills, A. D. (2003), A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press