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Kimberly (given name)

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Kimberly
Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa
Pronunciation/ˈkɪmbərli/
/kɪmˈbɛərli/
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English
Other gender
Feminine
  • Kimberleigh
  • Kimberlee
  • Kimberli
Origin
Language(s)Old English
Word/nameCombination of Kimber and leigh
Meaning"From the meadow of the royal fortress".
Region of originEngland
Other names
Variant form(s)Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, Kimberley (also an Australian form of Kimball)[1], Kimberli, Kymberly, Kymberley
Short form(s)Kim, Kimmie, Kimmi, or Kimmy
See alsoKimberley (surname)

Kimberly (also Kimberley[1] or Kimberlee) is a unisex given name of Old English origin. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, a place in Norfolk, England, popularised the name by giving it to a town in South Africa and a region in Australia. The first element, Kimber, reflects various Old English personal names; in the case of the Earldom in Norfolk this first appeared as Chineburlai in 1086 and seems to mean "clearing of a woman called Cyneburg (Cyneburga in Latin)". The second element is the Old English leah or leigh "meadow, clearing in a woodland".[2]

Origin of the given name

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The given name Kimberley is derived from place of Kimberley, in Northern Cape, South Africa. This South African place name was named after Lord Kimberley in the 19th century.[1] At the end of the 19th century, this place was the scene of fighting and a British victory during the Second Boer War, and consequently the given name was popularised in the English-speaking world.

The name of Lord Kimberley's title is derived from Kimberley, in Norfolk, England. This place name is derived from two Old English elements: the first is the feminine personal name Cyneburg, which means "royal fortress";[citation needed] the second element is lēah, which means "woodland" or "clearing".[1][3] The place name roughly means: the "woodland clearing of the royal fortress." This place name was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chineburlai.[3]

Variants

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Kimberly is a given name with many variants. Kimberley is used for males and females, while Kimberlee, Kimberleigh, and Kimberli are common feminine variant forms.[1]

The common Korean surname Kim is not related to Kimberley.

Notable women

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Notable men

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 159, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  2. ^ "Kimberley", Online Etymology Dictionary
  3. ^ a b Kimberley, Encyclopedia.com, retrieved 8 December 2010 which cited: Mills, A. D. (2003), A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press
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