Head to head · Girls' names
Kendall vs Kimberly
#328 vs #302 in 2025
Kimberly is ahead (#302 vs #328 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Kimberly is stepping back from its peak, Kendall is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Kendall has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Kimberly leads 4 measures of 6; Kendall leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1920s: Kendall #4570, Kimberly — — Kendall higher
- 1930s: Kendall #3434, Kimberly #3420 — Kimberly higher
- 1940s: Kendall #3169, Kimberly #1323 — Kimberly higher
- 1950s: Kendall #2672, Kimberly #168 — Kimberly higher
- 1960s: Kendall #1167, Kimberly #10 — Kimberly higher
- 1970s: Kendall #1177, Kimberly #7 — Kimberly higher
- 1980s: Kendall #545, Kimberly #19 — Kimberly higher
- 1990s: Kendall #252, Kimberly #40 — Kimberly higher
- 2000s: Kendall #162, Kimberly #61 — Kimberly higher
- 2010s: Kendall #175, Kimberly #121 — Kimberly higher
- 2020s: Kendall #313, Kimberly #231 — Kimberly higher
Kimberly stood higher in 10 of 11 decades; Kimberly has held the lead since the 1930s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Kendall | Kimberly |
|---|---|---|
| 1920s | #4570 | — |
| 1930s | #3434 | #3420 |
| 1940s | #3169 | #1323 |
| 1950s | #2672 | #168 |
| 1960s | #1167 | #10 |
| 1970s | #1177 | #7 |
| 1980s | #545 | #19 |
| 1990s | #252 | #40 |
| 2000s | #162 | #61 |
| 2010s | #175 | #121 |
| 2020s | #313 | #231 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Kendall
valley of the River Kent
The main reading traces the name to Kendal in Cumbria, from the river name Kent plus dale, 'valley'. A second reading, also taken seriously by surname scholars, derives it from Welsh pen y ddol, 'head of the meadow or dale'. Both land on much the same picture: a name for someone from a particular valley.
River Kent → Kendal (town in Cumbria) → Kendall (English surname) → Kendall (given name)
How it traveled
Kendal sits where the River Kent runs down out of the Lake District fells, and it gave its name to the families who came from there — Kendall, Kendal, Kendell, spelled however the parish clerk heard it. The town was known across medieval England for its woolen cloth, the 'Kendal green' that Shakespeare put into the mouth of Falstaff in Henry IV.
Kimberly
Cyneburg's clearing
The English villages called Kimberley are generally read as the clearing or wood of a person named Cyneburg or Cynebald — Old English leah, a clearing, after a personal name. Cyneburg itself joins cyne, royal, with burg, fortress. Which person and which village is not settled, and different Kimberleys have different readings. What is documented is the chain: village to earldom to South African town to American given name.
Cyneburg → Kimberley → Kimberly
How it traveled
The siege of Kimberley in the Boer War put the town's name in every English-language newspaper for four months, which is how a South African mining settlement became familiar to families who would never see it. American use as a given name follows, slowly at first and then in enormous volume in the middle of the last century.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Kendall
KEN-dul
Stress on the first syllable; the second is light, closer to -dul or -dl than a full -dall. The pronunciation is settled and is the same for boys and girls.
- Ken — The most obvious short form; also a long-established standalone given name for men, which is worth knowing before you lean on it.
- Kenny — Informal and affectionate; like Ken, it exists independently as a man's name and is common among older generations.
- Kendy — Family-level nickname, rarely used outside the household.
Kimberly
KIM-bur-lee
KIM-bur-lee, three syllables, stress at the front, the middle reduced. Kimberly and Kimberley are said identically; the extra e is the British and South African spelling of the place and the shorter one is the American name.
- Kim — The front clipped, and a complete working name in its own right for either child.
- Kimmie — The same softened, which belongs to childhood in most households.
- Berly — The back taken alone, unusual and used mostly within a family.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Kendall if you want…
- a name fewer children share#328 in 2025 — kendall will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with fewer syllablesKendall is 2 syllables to Kimberly's 3
Choose Kimberly if you want…
- a name most people already know#302 in 2025, 1,009 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsKimberly is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itKimberly runs 3 syllables, Kendall 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Kendall
Strengths
- An unbroken presence on US birth records since the early twentieth century — familiar to every generation now living, without ever having been inescapable.
- Reads on sight for English speakers: two syllables, no silent letters, no pronunciation instructions needed.
- Works for a boy or a girl without alteration, as surname-names generally do.
To consider
- Kendal, Kendell and Kendyl all exist, so expect to spell it aloud now and then — though the double-L version is the one people default to.
- Most Kendalls today are girls. A boy will meet the occasional assumption in the other direction, especially on paperwork and class lists.
- The obvious nicknames, Ken and Kenny, are strongly established as men's names in their own right; some families simply skip them and use the full name, which carries fine on its own.
Kimberly
Strengths
- The chain from an Old English name to a diamond town is documented at every link.
- Kim is a complete working short form that needs no explanation anywhere.
- Three syllables with a firm front stress, which carries a short surname well.
To consider
- A very great many people carry it, so a Kimberly will rarely be the only Kim in a room.
- Kimberley with the extra e is standard outside America and the spelling gets corrected both ways.
- It is strongly associated with the second half of the last century and dates a person fairly closely.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Kendall and Kimberly in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Kendall and Kimberly?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Kendall and Kimberly — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Kendall or Kimberly — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Kendall or Kimberly?
- Kimberly, in 2025: Kimberly ranked #302 with 1,009 babies; Kendall ranked #328 with 932 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Kendall or Kimberly?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Kendall moved down 14 places; Kimberly moved down 117 places.
- Which is the older name, Kendall or Kimberly?
- Kendall entered the US charts in 1929; Kimberly entered the US charts in 1933. On the American record, Kendall is the older name.
- How many people are named Kendall and Kimberly?
- About 65,500 people named Kendall are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 797,000 people named Kimberly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Kendalls or Kimberlys in the classroom?
- Kendall will almost certainly be the only one in school. Kimberly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Kendall, Kimberly and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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