Kimberlea
Feminine form of the English name Kimberly, meaning "from the meadow of the royal fortress".
Name Census estimates that about 460 living Americans carry the first name Kimberlea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kimberlea today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kimberlea births was 1970 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kimberlea. 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
460
~ 1 in 745,118 Americans
Peak year
1970
22 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2000 SSA rank
#10,345
Tracked since 1954
Popularity
Kimberlea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kimberlea 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 160 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
Kimberlea 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 Kimberlea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kimberleas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kimberlea
The name Kimberlea is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word "cynebyrht," which means "royal brightness" or "royal splendor." It is a combination of the words "cyne" (royal) and "byrht" (bright). The name is believed to have originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kimberlea can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this document, the name appears as "Kinebriht," which was likely a variant spelling of the Old English name.
In the Middle Ages, the name Kimberlea was not as common as other English names, but it did appear in various historical records and literary works. One notable example is Kimberlea de Lisle, a 13th-century English noblewoman who was the daughter of Sir William de Lisle and Margery de Beaumont.
During the Renaissance period, the name Kimberlea was occasionally used by English families, particularly those of noble or gentry class. One notable figure from this time was Kimberlea Montagu, born in 1568, who was a member of the influential Montagu family and the daughter of Sir Edward Montagu and Elizabeth Harrington.
In the 17th century, the name Kimberlea was brought to the American colonies by English settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances in America was Kimberlea Bradstreet, born in 1612 in Northampton, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Anne Bradstreet, one of the earliest published poets in the British North American colonies.
Another notable figure was Kimberlea Whipple, born in 1670 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. She was a Puritan woman who lived during the Salem Witch Trials and was accused of witchcraft but ultimately acquitted.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Kimberlea remained relatively uncommon, but it continued to be used by English and American families. One notable example was Kimberlea Brontë, born in 1776, who was the aunt of the famous Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.
Overall, the name Kimberlea has a rich history dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England, with roots in the Old English language and references to royalty and brightness. While it has not been as widely used as some other English names, it has been borne by notable figures throughout history, from medieval noblewomen to colonial American settlers and literary figures.
People
Kimberlea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kimberlea 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
Kimberlea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kimberlea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 460 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kimberlea 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 745,118 US residents.
Is Kimberlea a common name?
We classify Kimberlea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 531 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kimberlea most popular?
The single biggest year for Kimberlea was 1970, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kimberlea is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kimberlea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kimberlea 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.
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.