Kimberly

Kimberly is the transferred use of an English surname derived from a place name, Kimberley in Nottinghamshire, first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as “Chinemarelie”. The town of Kimberley in Norfolk was likewise recorded in the Domesday Book as “Chineburlai”. Lastly, there’s a Kimberley located in Warwickshire first recorded in the early 14th century as “Kynebaldeleye”. While you may not think any of these words even remotely bear any resemblance to Kimberly, one has to remember that the rate of illiteracy was quite high in medieval England, not to mention the radically different dialects spoken from region to region. It was basically up the scribe – how he heard and spelled the name – as he recorded it. What’s more, each of these towns have differing etymologies; although all three possess the Olde English element “cyne” meaning “royal, king”. Kimberley in Nottinghamshire is believed to have originally meant “royal and famous”; the one in Norfolk “royal-fortress meadow” and the Warwickshire one “royal and brave”. Suffice it to say that the general theme here is “royalty” as in “nobly-born”. However, it was a totally different place called Kimberley (South Africa) which would ultimately influence the usage of Kimberley as a gender-neutral given name. Diamonds were discovered in Kimberley in 1866 which prompted a diamond-rush of foreigners, exacerbating an already tenuous relationship between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers). Kimberley, South Africa was ultimately named for John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (Norfolk) when in 1870 he became the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The British ultimately won the war against the Dutch Boers, and the name Kimberley saw its first success as a personal name in the English-speaking world for both males and females. Today the name is considered almost exclusively female and sees most of its usage in the United States.