Kimberle
A feminine given name of English origin meaning "from the royal meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 1,014 living Americans carry the first name Kimberle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kimberle today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kimberle births was 1962 (65 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kimberle. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 338,022 Americans
Peak year
1962
65 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2001 SSA rank
#16,706
Tracked since 1951
Census
Kimberle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,051 people with the first name Kimberle, which placed it at #12,003 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,003
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,051 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kimberle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kimberle is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kimberle described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kimberle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 841
- Black or African American11.3% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 42
- Two or more races3.1% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Popularity
Kimberle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kimberle from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 526 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kimberle by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Kimberle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kimberles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Ohio, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Kimberle, while Texas, Missouri, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kimberle
The name Kimberle originated from the Old English word "cynebyrht," which means "royal brightness" or "bright battle." It was derived from the combination of the words "cyne" (royal) and "byrht" (bright).
In the early Middle Ages, the name Kimberle was primarily used in England and other parts of the Anglo-Saxon territories. It was a popular name among the nobility and aristocracy, reflecting its regal connotations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kimberle can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of events in Anglo-Saxon England. The Chronicle mentions a character named Kimberle, who lived in the 9th century and was a prominent figure in the court of King Alfred the Great.
During the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century, the name Kimberle fell out of favor due to the influx of French and Norman names. However, it resurfaced in the 13th century, appearing in various historical documents and records from that period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kimberle. One such person was Kimberle de Beaumont (1087-1155), a Norman nobleman who played a significant role in the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda during the Anarchy period in England.
Another prominent figure was Kimberle of Arden (1292-1359), an English knight and landowner who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War against France.
In the 16th century, Kimberle Tyndale (1494-1536) was an English scholar and translator who played a crucial role in the Protestant Reformation by translating the Bible into English.
During the 17th century, Kimberle Philips (1631-1674) was an English poet and writer who was part of the literary circle known as the "Cavalier Poets."
In the 19th century, Kimberle Howard (1812-1888) was an English architect and designer who made significant contributions to the Gothic Revival architectural style in England.
While the name Kimberle has its roots in Old English, it has evolved over time and has been adapted to various cultures and languages, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. Despite its historical significance, the name's popularity has fluctuated throughout the centuries, reflecting changing cultural and societal preferences.
People
Kimberle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kimberle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kimberle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kimberle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,014 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kimberle going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 338,022 US residents.
Is Kimberle a common name?
We classify Kimberle as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,219 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kimberle most popular?
The single biggest year for Kimberle was 1962, when 65 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kimberle is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kimberle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,051 people with the name Kimberle, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,003 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kimberle in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kimberle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kimberle appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,056 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kimberle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kimberle is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kimberle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kimberle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (841 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kimberle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kimberle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kimberle in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Kimberle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kimberle in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kimberle can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Kimberle?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Kimberle at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.