Kim
Gender-neutral name · English · Old English · Vietnamese
- US rank
- #4,172
- Syllables
- 1
- Peak
- #34 in 1960
34 babies were named Kim in the US in 2025. It has dropped 437 places in five years.
Found on lists
Save adds it to your list. Vote moves it up the top voted names.
US births per million girls, 1914–2025
US births per million boys, 1912–2025
Similar names
Popularity: U.S. Social Security Administration (babies with 5+ births per year).
Did you know?
A few things about Kim you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.
Famous Kim
Kim Basinger
American actress (born 1953)
Choose Kim and your child shares a first name with Kim Basinger, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kim, like who?” Kim Basinger's Wikipedia article is available in 92 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.
Read about Kim Basinger on Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)Photo: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons
- How commonAbout 1 in every 47,170 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kim, 34 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kim would very likely be the only one.
- HistoryKim first shows up in US birth records in 1912, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 113 years since.
- Best yearIt was far more popular in 1960, when it ranked #34. Today it's #4,172, so it could be due a comeback.
- Then vs nowKim was 3.0× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 15,649 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 47,170.
- TrendKim has slipped 437 places over the last five years and now sits at #4,172. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
- Boy or girlKim is given to both boys and girls: 85% of the 40 babies named Kim in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
- OriginKim is the #6 most popular Vietnamese girl name in the US. That's out of 66 Vietnamese girl and unisex names in our list.
About the name Kim
Kim is a gender-neutral name of English, Old English and Vietnamese origin. It has 3 letters and 1 syllable, starting with K and ending in “-kim”. US birth records list Kim for girls from 1914 to 2025, in 104 of those 112 years. Its best year was 1960, when it ranked #34 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #4,172, with 34 babies. Of the 40 US babies named Kim in 2025, 85% were girls and 15% were boys.
Origin:English namesOld English namesVietnamese names
| Decade | Babies per million | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 1.1 | 909,091 girls |
| 1920s | 4.8 | 207,900 girls |
| 1930s | 20 | 51,073 girls |
| 1940s | 82 | 12,195 girls |
| 1950s | 2,807 | 356 girls |
| 1960s | 5,111 | 196 girls |
| 1970s | 1,314 | 761 girls |
| 1980s | 224 | 4,464 girls |
| 1990s | 88 | 11,329 girls |
| 2000s | 47 | 21,079 girls |
| 2010s | 33 | 29,886 girls |
| 2020s | 22 | 44,610 girls |
| Decade | Babies per million | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 4.5 | 221,607 boys |
| 1920s | 6.0 | 167,224 boys |
| 1930s | 29 | 34,223 boys |
| 1940s | 167 | 5,995 boys |
| 1950s | 1,044 | 958 boys |
| 1960s | 365 | 2,741 boys |
| 1970s | 109 | 9,168 boys |
| 1980s | 50 | 20,173 boys |
| 1990s | 21 | 48,216 boys |
| 2000s | 7.6 | 132,100 boys |
| 2010s | 4.9 | 202,840 boys |
| 2020s | 5.4 | 185,185 boys |
Other spellings of Kim
More English names
- Girl name: Olivia · olive tree
- Girl name: Charlotte · free
- Boy name: Oliver · olive tree
- Boy name: Henry · ruler of the home
- Unisex name: James · supplanter
- Boy name: William · resolute protector
- Boy name: Benjamin · son of the right hand
- Boy name: Jack · God is gracious
Questions about the name Kim
What is the origin of the name Kim?
Kim has English, Old English, Vietnamese roots in our records. Other English names include Olivia, Charlotte, Oliver.
Is Kim a boy or girl name?
Both. Kim is used for boys and girls: in 2025, 85% of US babies named Kim were girls.
How popular is the name Kim?
Kim ranked #4,172 for US girls in 2025, given to 34 babies. Its best year was 1960 (#34).