Kim
Kim is given to both girls and boys: 34 girls and 6 boys were given it in 2025 (#4,227 among girls’ names and #11,400 among boys’, #6,566 among all names counting both); 214,768 Americans have been recorded with it since 1912 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Kim every year since 1955.
An estimated 179,000 Americans named Kim and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 64 years old and half are between 59 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kim by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kim mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kim is “a female given name transferred from the surname, of 1940s and later usage.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.
/kɪm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kim?
#4,227 among girls’ names, 2025
Kim fell from #2,516 in 2015 to #4,227 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 40.3 to 21.2 per million.
13,635 babies in 1960, the peak
Kim peaked in 1960, when 13,635 babies were given it (12,477 girls, #34 among girls’ names). The 40 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are under 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | #4,227 | 6 | #11,400 |
| 2024 | 28 | #4,831 | 13 | #6,656 |
| 2023 | 38 | #3,942 | 9 | #8,610 |
| 2022 | 40 | #3,795 | 10 | #8,064 |
| 2021 | 39 | #3,845 | 8 | #9,301 |
| 2020 | 39 | #3,749 | 10 | #7,823 |
| 2019 | 54 | #3,024 | 10 | #7,954 |
| 2018 | 36 | #4,039 | 5 | #13,257 |
| 2017 | 47 | #3,366 | 8 | #9,324 |
| 2016 | 53 | #3,120 | 7 | #10,260 |
Every recorded year (111)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 72 | #2,516 | 11 | #7,326 |
| 2014 | 69 | #2,569 | 19 | #4,976 |
| 2013 | 62 | #2,791 | 8 | #9,270 |
| 2012 | 92 | #2,087 | 9 | #8,551 |
| 2011 | 50 | #3,292 | 7 | #10,268 |
| 2010 | 52 | #3,180 | 9 | #8,483 |
| 2009 | 48 | #3,438 | 17 | #5,441 |
| 2008 | 64 | #2,819 | 7 | #10,524 |
| 2007 | 104 | #1,981 | 10 | #7,913 |
| 2006 | 85 | #2,259 | 10 | #7,750 |
| 2005 | 73 | #2,417 | 13 | #6,055 |
| 2004 | 91 | #2,023 | 18 | #4,697 |
| 2003 | 83 | #2,110 | 17 | #4,721 |
| 2002 | 111 | #1,660 | 14 | #5,272 |
| 2001 | 100 | #1,784 | 26 | #3,365 |
| 2000 | 116 | #1,544 | 18 | #4,299 |
| 1999 | 133 | #1,336 | 29 | #2,901 |
| 1998 | 102 | #1,600 | 24 | #3,241 |
| 1997 | 110 | #1,491 | 20 | #3,529 |
| 1996 | 129 | #1,322 | 47 | #1,921 |
| 1995 | 135 | #1,255 | 31 | #2,468 |
| 1994 | 161 | #1,119 | 46 | #1,854 |
| 1993 | 185 | #1,000 | 39 | #2,066 |
| 1992 | 182 | #1,026 | 45 | #1,820 |
| 1991 | 207 | #928 | 60 | #1,469 |
| 1990 | 256 | #786 | 66 | #1,369 |
| 1989 | 259 | #756 | 72 | #1,281 |
| 1988 | 253 | #742 | 90 | #1,042 |
| 1987 | 280 | #667 | 76 | #1,103 |
| 1986 | 281 | #657 | 81 | #1,031 |
| 1985 | 349 | #565 | 91 | #959 |
| 1984 | 388 | #507 | 93 | #915 |
| 1983 | 401 | #491 | 91 | #926 |
| 1982 | 467 | #456 | 96 | #914 |
| 1981 | 536 | #410 | 108 | #849 |
| 1980 | 602 | #383 | 113 | #830 |
| 1979 | 779 | #308 | 115 | #815 |
| 1978 | 823 | #281 | 123 | #765 |
| 1977 | 1,083 | #230 | 131 | #745 |
| 1976 | 1,248 | #195 | 137 | #717 |
| 1975 | 1,481 | #178 | 164 | #632 |
| 1974 | 1,936 | #145 | 161 | #635 |
| 1973 | 2,195 | #129 | 183 | #586 |
| 1972 | 2,741 | #118 | 219 | #538 |
| 1971 | 3,682 | #101 | 267 | #495 |
| 1970 | 4,729 | #78 | 318 | #456 |
| 1969 | 5,450 | #66 | 361 | #417 |
| 1968 | 6,089 | #57 | 408 | #384 |
| 1967 | 7,408 | #49 | 457 | #349 |
| 1966 | 9,194 | #43 | 548 | #316 |
| 1965 | 10,083 | #43 | 611 | #306 |
| 1964 | 9,980 | #42 | 779 | #277 |
| 1963 | 10,683 | #39 | 848 | #264 |
| 1962 | 11,657 | #37 | 916 | #255 |
| 1961 | 11,367 | #36 | 1,102 | #240 |
| 1960 | 12,477 | #34 | 1,158 | #237 |
| 1959 | 11,594 | #35 | 1,105 | #241 |
| 1958 | 10,664 | #40 | 1,322 | #205 |
| 1957 | 11,426 | #35 | 1,974 | #162 |
| 1956 | 9,897 | #38 | 2,960 | #118 |
| 1955 | 5,687 | #75 | 3,490 | #98 |
| 1954 | 2,926 | #134 | 3,167 | #109 |
| 1953 | 1,739 | #182 | 2,565 | #127 |
| 1952 | 1,292 | #216 | 2,356 | #126 |
| 1951 | 570 | #331 | 1,474 | #172 |
| 1950 | 285 | #480 | 795 | #232 |
| 1949 | 254 | #512 | 636 | #255 |
| 1948 | 239 | #535 | 510 | #305 |
| 1947 | 255 | #521 | 534 | #298 |
| 1946 | 190 | #581 | 407 | #318 |
| 1945 | 77 | #859 | 188 | #435 |
| 1944 | 84 | #834 | 135 | #526 |
| 1943 | 59 | #1,042 | 104 | #620 |
| 1942 | 58 | #1,031 | 88 | #686 |
| 1941 | 38 | #1,234 | 54 | #864 |
| 1940 | 31 | #1,363 | 66 | #763 |
| 1939 | 33 | #1,301 | 52 | #850 |
| 1938 | 34 | #1,257 | 40 | #1,018 |
| 1937 | 25 | #1,516 | 58 | #811 |
| 1936 | 27 | #1,430 | 50 | #866 |
| 1935 | 20 | #1,742 | 24 | #1,410 |
| 1934 | 16 | #2,041 | 24 | #1,408 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,217 | 23 | #1,432 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,306 | 21 | #1,564 |
| 1931 | 17 | #1,984 | 11 | #2,396 |
| 1930 | 9 | #3,196 | 7 | #3,445 |
| 1929 | 13 | #2,504 | 8 | #3,121 |
| 1928 | under 5 | 7 | #3,542 | |
| 1927 | 7 | #4,070 | 9 | #3,034 |
| 1926 | 9 | #3,406 | 10 | #2,812 |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,862 | under 5 | |
| 1924 | 9 | #3,523 | 8 | #3,384 |
| 1923 | 6 | #4,679 | 7 | #3,654 |
| 1922 | under 5 | 10 | #2,908 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 7 | #3,709 | |
| 1920 | 5 | #5,360 | under 5 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 5 | #4,503 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 5 | #4,119 | |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,913 | under 5 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 7 | #2,384 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 5 | #2,736 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Kim a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 214,768 Americans recorded as Kim, 84% are girls and 16% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Kim: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kim, and how old are they?
179,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 214,768 Americans ever recorded as Kim. The median Kim alive today is 64 years old; half are between 59 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 246,384 people named Kim (217,260 women and girls, 29,124 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 189,112 born in the U.S. The Census count is 30% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 528 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 113,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 57,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,640 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 730 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Kim born?
The states with the most babies named Kim are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 22,473 | #2,260 | 1.2× |
| California | 19,905 | #2,642 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 11,752 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 11,643 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 10,932 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 10,453 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Wisconsin | 9,064 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Texas | 8,312 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| New Jersey | 7,596 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 5,704 | not ranked | 1.0× |
Where Kim is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kim is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1912 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Kim with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 216,726 babies since 1880, Kim is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 40 of their 40 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Kim
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Kim and names like it
- Compare Kim and KymBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sKim peaked in 1960.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kim since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Kim: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Kim.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Kim alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with KMost given first.