Kim - Meaning of Kim

What does Kim mean?

Pronounce
Kim

[ 1 syll. kim, ki-m ] The baby girl name Kim is also used as a boy name, though it is more often a girl name. It is pronounced Kiy-M †.

1: Kim is of Old English origin. It is used mainly in English and Vietnamese. It is derived from the word cynebeald with the meaning 'kin bold, brave king'. The name was first used by Rudyard Kipling as the title of his novel Kim (1901); it is also the short form for the boy hero's full name Kimball O'Hara. In the book, the name Kimball is described as a derivative of the surname, which is itself from the Old English cynebeald meaning 'kin bold'. The book soon popularized the use of Kim as a masculine name as well as a pet name, although Kimball was itself seldom used. The masculine use was later overshadowed by the feminine, after the success of Edna Ferber's novel Showboat (1926) and the subsequent musicals and films, in which Kim is the name of a female character.

Forms of Kim include the name Cim, the Welsh Cym, the name Kem, the name Khim, the name Khime, the name Khym, the name Kima, the name Kimette, the name Kimm, and the name Kymme.

2: Kim is of Vietnamese origin. Here, it means 'golden'. The name has sometimes been bestowed in Vietname to balance the metal and wood

influences in a child's horoscope. See Kim for more information.

A form of the name is the English Kim.

In addition, Kim is a shortening of the English Kimberley.

Kim is also a form of the name Kim in the English language.

See also the related forms, the name Annie Kim, the name Kimalina, and the name Marie Kim.

See also the related categories, brave (strength), wood (forest), hero (conqueror), metal, and seldom.

Kim is unusual as a baby girl name. Its usage peaked in 1960 with 0.600% of baby girls being named Kim. It was #34 in rank then. The baby name has fallen out of favor since then, and is currently used only on a very modest scale. Among all girl names in its family, Kim was nevertheless the most widely used in 2018.

Baby names that sound like Kim include Kymme, Kaene, Kain, Kaine, Kam, Kan, Kayn, Kayne, Kem, Ken, Kenae, Khan, Khanh, Khim, Khime, Khym, Kimm, Kimme, Kin, and Kine.

† English pronunciation for Kim: K as in "key (K.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; M as in "me (M.IY)"

Details of famous persons named Kim:
Actress Kim Basinger, born Kimila Ann Basinger 8 December 1953, Athens, Georgia.
Actress Kim Novak, born Marilyn Pauline Novak 13 February 1933, Chicago, Illinois.
Rapper Lil' Kim, born Kimberly Denise Jones 11 July 1975, Brooklyn, New York.
Singer Kim Wilde, born Kim Smith 18 November 1960, Chiswick, West London, England.
Tennis Player Kim Clijsters, born 8 June 1983, Bilzen, Belgium.