Kymberly
Feminine · “the meadow of the royal fortress”
The y in Kymberly is replacing a vowel that carries the stress, which most respellings do not dare. Change the unstressed vowels in a name and nobody hears; change the stressed one and you are making a claim about how the name is said. Here the claim is that nothing changes, and it is correct.
How old is the name Kymberly?
Kymberly first appears in US birth records in 1955 — 70 years ago. The typical Kymberly alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 2,900 people named Kymberly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kymberly most popular?
Kymberly peaked in 1987, reaching #1280 nationally. See the whole 1987 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kimberley to Kymberly
The story of Kymberly
The y is doing something specific and slightly unusual. English uses it as a full substitute for a short i, and it works even under stress: Sydney, Lynne, Wyman and Kymberly are all said exactly like their i-spelled counterparts. That is not true of most substitutions — swapping a stressed a for an o or an e changes the sound — which makes the y one of the few letters in English that can be moved into a strong position for free. Kymberly puts it in the strongest position the name has and takes no risk at all in doing so, which is why the spelling has lasted for decades.
Meaning
the meadow of the royal fortress
The English place name behind it joins a personal name to two Old English words for a stronghold and a clearing. The whole chain — place to earl to South African town to given name — is documented at every step.
How the name formed
- Kimberley
- Kimberly
- Kymberly
Pronouncing Kymberly
KIM-bur-lee
Three syllables with the weight at the front. Every spelling in this family is said identically.
Nicknames for Kymberly
Moderate
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
- 1955
- Most girls named
- 1987109 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1280reached in 1987
- Change vs 2023
- +40.0%7 in 2024, from 5
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.
Kymberlys among us
people named Kymberly are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Kymberly sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The y makes the name visually distinct while changing nothing audible.
- Kym works as a short form and matches the spelling.
- The place behind it is real, mapped and traceable through several countries.
- Kimberly is the standard spelling and will be written instead, every time.
- Kimberly, Kimberley, Kymberly and Kymberlee are all in the record.
- It is heavily generation-marked to the middle of the twentieth century.
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Kymberly
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Kymberlys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Kymberly are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Kymberly in 2025?
- Kymberly is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Kymberly with classmates?
- Kymberly will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More K names
The most-given names starting with K, all years combined.
Karen#1279 · Kimberly#302 · Kathleen#1150 · Katherine#186 · Kelly#851 · Kathryn#729 · Kayla#364 · Kathy#3249
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kymberly? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kymberly and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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