Kim
Pronounced K IH1 M (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1960
- 111 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Kim?
Kim is a name given to both boys and girls, and first appears in 1914. It has been given to 216,683 children — the 239th most common girls' name on record.
It is still recorded, but barely: 446 births across the past decade, against a peak of 12,571 in a single year. That peak was in 1960.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Kym and Kimm — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 16% of children named Kim are boys, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Kim and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Kym
- Kimm
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- K IH1 M
- Stress pattern:
- 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Kim
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Kim
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Kim?
- Kim ranks 239th among girls' names in US records, with 216,683 births since 1914. Over the past decade it accounts for 446.
- Is Kim a unisex name?
- Yes. About 16% of children given the name are boys, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Kim most popular?
- 1960, when 12,571 children were given the name. It has been in use for 111 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Kim spelled?
- Kym, Kimm. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.