Meaning & History
Kim is a given name of multiple origins, used in Dutch, English, and German. While it today is most often considered a short form of Kimberly, the name in fact predates Kimberly as a given name. The author Rudyard Kipling popularized Kim as a masculine name through the heroic title character of his novel Kim (1901), where it was a short form of Kimball. In her novel Show Boat (1926), Edna Ferber used Kim for a female character born on the Mississippi River, deriving the name from the initials of Kentucky, Illinois, and Mississippi.
The name was popularized in America by the actresses Kim Hunter (1922–2002) and Kim Novak (born 1933), both of whom adopted it as a stage name. Variant forms include Kimber, Kimmie, Kimmy, Kimbra, and Kym.
- Meaning: Short form of Kimberly (from a place name) or derived from initials; also known as a masculine name from Kimball.
- Origin: Dutch, English, German.
- Type: Female unisex crossing to masculine use.
- Usage regions: Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Germany.
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