Kimberly (given name)
| Kimberly | |
|---|---|
 Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa |
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| Pronunciation | English: /ˈkɪmbərli/ or English: /kɪmˈbɛərli/ |
| Gender | Feminine |
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Word/Name | Kimberley, in Northern Cape, South Africa |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, Kimberli, Kimberlie (all feminine); Kimberley (unisex) |
| Short form(s) | Kim |
| See also | Kimberley, Kimberly (surname) |
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Look up Kimberly in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Kimberly is a unisex given name originated from a South African place. The name was derived from an English title, which was in turn derived from an English place name. A variant spelling of the name is Kimberley, borne by both males and females. The form Kimberly is more common in North America than Kimberley. The given name Kim was originally a short form of Kimberley, but it is now established as an independent name in its own right; this name is also borne by both males and females.[1]
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[edit] Origin of the given name
The given name Kimberley is derived from the like-named place, 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 the like-named place, Kimberley, in Norfolk, England. This place name is derived from two Old English elements: the first is the feminine personal name Cyneburg; the second element is lēah, meaning "wood" or "clearing".[1][2] The place name roughly means: the "woodland clearing of Cyneburg". This place name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chineburlai.[2] The Old English personal name Cyneburg means "royal-fortress".[citation needed]
[edit] Variants
Kimberly is a given name with many variants. Kim is also common as a last name in South Korea. The variant Kym is also common with males. Forms Kimberley, Kimberleigh, Kymberly, Kimberli, Kimberlie, and Kimberlee, are common feminine variants.[1]
[edit] People with this name
- Kimberly Elise - American actress
- Kimberly "Kim" Kardashian - American entertainer
- Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Denise Jones - American rapper, actress, singer, and songwriter
- Kimberley Nixon - Welsh actress
- Kimberley Rew - English singer/songwriter/guitarist, member of The Soft Boys & Katrina and the Waves; frequent collaborator/sideman/touring musician with former Soft Boys bandmates Robyn Hitchcock & Morris Windsor.
- Kimberley Walsh - English singer in the girl band Girls Aloud
- Kimberly Jones - American dancer in Cirque du Soleil
- Kim Chiu - Filipino actress, singer
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley - Actress
- Kimberley "Kim" Hughes - Australian cricketer who captained his side against the West Indies, and tearfully resigned after losing four home games in a row.
- Kimberly Wyatt - Singer, dancer, member of the Pussycat Dolls
- Kim Novak - American actress, most famous for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).
- Representative Kymberly Pine, State of Hawaii House of Representatives
[edit] Fictional characters
- Kimberly Hart in the Power Rangers franchise. The character was portrayed by Amy Jo Johnson through three seasons (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and two movies (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie).
- Kimberly "Kim" Pine, a character in Scott Pilgrim
- Kimberly Shaw in Melrose Place played by Marcia Cross
- Kim Possible in The Disney Channel Amimated Cartoon "Kim Possible"
- Kimberly Hyde in the Australian Soap Opera Home and Away
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d 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
- ^ a b Kimberley, Encyclopedia.com, http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Kimberley.html, retrieved 8 December 2010 which cited: Mills, A. D. (2003), A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press
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