Kimber
Feminine
Kimber is given to both — 11,215 girls and 451 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Kimber began as an English surname, and behind it stands the Old English name Cyneburg — cyne, "royal", and burg, "fortress". In the mouth it is two clean beats that rhyme with timber and amber, and it arrives already carrying Kim, one of the most durable short forms in English. It reads as a surname, a nickname and a full given name all at once.
How old is the name Kimber?
Kimber first appears in US birth records in 1951 — 74 years ago. The typical Kimber is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 11,000 people named Kimber are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kimber most popular?
Kimber peaked in 2016, reaching #592 nationally. Today it ranks #936, 344 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Cyneburg to Kimber
The story of Kimber
Cyneburg was a real Old English name, borne by women in Anglo-Saxon England, and it left its mark twice over: on the surname Kimber and on villages called Kimberley. When British settlers named the South African diamond town Kimberley in the nineteenth century, the place name traveled, and Kimberly followed it into the English-speaking world as a first name. Kimber sits at the meeting point — old surname on one side, clipped Kimberly on the other. Its American career is a recent one, and the shorter form arrived long after the longer one was familiar.
Meaningscholars disagree
Traced to Old English cyne "royal" and burg "fortress"
Two readings compete, and they meet in the same place. One takes Kimber as the English surname descended from the Old English woman's name Cyneburg, "royal fortress". The other takes it as a clipped form of Kimberly, which comes from English place names such as Kimberley in Norfolk — a clearing belonging to a woman called Cyneburg. Either road leads back to the same two Old English words; what is unsettled is which route delivered the name to American parents.
How the name formed
- Cyneburg
- Kimberley
- Kimberly
- Kimber
Related forms: Kimberly · Kimberley · Cyneburg
Pronouncing Kimber
KIM-bur
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the same rhythm as timber and amber. There is no competing pronunciation in American English.
Nicknames for Kimber
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1951
- Most girls named
- 2016516 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #592reached in 2016
- Change vs 2023
- −8.6%278 in 2025, from 304
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Kimber in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kimberly in English — related form
- Kimberley in English (British, Australian) — related form
- Cyneburg in Old English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma.
Kimbers among us
people named Kimber are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,782 born in 2025 was named Kimber
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Andria test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kimber's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Andria climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Andria's path sketches the road Kimber is walking now.
Kimber sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Kimber is headed
Kimber is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Kimber beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kimber in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, two syllables, and spelled the way it sounds — most people write it correctly on the first try.
- Comes with Kim already attached, a short form with a long unbroken record in English.
- Recognizable on sight because Kimberly paved the way, without being the same name.
- Fits the surname-as-first-name pattern that English has used for centuries.
- Rare enough in classrooms that it rarely needs a last initial attached.
- It will be heard as Kimberly constantly, and many people will assume it is a nickname for something longer. Expect a lifetime of gentle corrections — short, but frequent.
- Kimber is also a well-known American firearms manufacturer, and in some parts of the country that association comes to mind first. Worth knowing before you hear it from someone else.
- The name's wave is very recent, so almost everyone carrying it is still young. Adults who meet it will mostly be meeting it fresh, which cuts both ways.
- It is drifting back from its high point rather than climbing, so it is unlikely to feel overused — but it also has less momentum behind it than it did.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Kimber
Feminine · #936 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kimbers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 11,000 people named Kimber are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kimber in 2025?
- Kimber ranks #936 among US girl names in 2025, with 278 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kimber?
- About 1 in every 5,782 US girls born in 2025 was named Kimber — 278 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kimber with classmates?
- Kimber will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kimber
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Salma#936 · Alianna#938 · Landry#933 · Aleia#933 · Ayra#939 · Kallie#933 · Tallulah#939 · Ailanny#932
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kimber? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kimber and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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