Kimberly

[ˈkʰɪmbɚli]

/[ˈkʰɪmbɚli]/ name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"kimberly" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Kimberly” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,170. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,170
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kimberly · Kimberly · English

Kimberly · rank #17,170 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,170
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kickoff

Nearest frequency peer: kickoff (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Kimberly”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Kimberly” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Kimberly vs Kimber
75% similar
Kimberly vs Kimberley
89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Kimberly
PropertyValue
HeadwordKimberly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA[ˈkʰɪmbɚli]
Letters8
Frequency rank#17,170
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Kimberly”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Kimberlylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “kickoff” (#17,169), “lacrosse” (#17,171), “Lars” (#17,172). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “Kimberly” is #17,170. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around Kimberly (IPA [ˈkʰɪmbɚli]), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #17,170 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Kimberly, with forms such as "ikmberly", "kibmerly", and "kimbberly". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Kimber", "Kimberley", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Variant spelling of Kimberley. The correct English form is Kimberly, spelled K-I-M-B-E-R-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A unisex given name transferred from the surname, popular in the 1960s and the 1970s.
  3. 3
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  4. 4
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  5. 5
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  6. 6
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  7. 7
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  8. 8
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  9. 9
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  10. 10
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  11. 11
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  12. 12
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:
  13. 13
    Any of several places in the US named for persons with the surname:

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Kimberly appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The palm trees fall into the sea / It doesn't matter much to me / As long as you're safe, Kimberly
  2. What was her name? Kimberly. ( - - - ) Jesus, everybody was named Kimberly, four in her class. Three guys named Sean. Kimberly with her soap opera name tried to fix herself, punched all those holes in her ears trying to look pretty, trying to decorate herself.

Etymology

Variant spelling of Kimberley.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ikmberly
  • kibmerly
  • kimbberly
  • kimbelry
  • kimberlly
  • kimberlyy
  • kimberrly
  • kimberyl
  • kimbrely
  • kimebrly
  • kimmberly
  • kkimberly
  • kmiberly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Kimberly - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ikmberly2kibmerly2kimbberly1kimbelry2kimberlly1kimberlyy1kimberrly1kimberyl2
Edit distance from "Kimberly"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Kimberly"?
"Kimberly" is spelled K-I-M-B-E-R-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈkʰɪmbɚli].
What does "Kimberly" mean?
As a proper noun, "Kimberly" means: A surname.
What words are commonly confused with "Kimberly"?
"Kimberly" is commonly confused with "Kimber", "Kimberley". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Kimberly"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kimberly" is [ˈkʰɪmbɚli]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Kimberly"?
Variant spelling of Kimberley. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Kimberly", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lacrosse#17,171leftover#17,174newcomer#17,190openness#17,195

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

localized13 variantsgreenwood13 variantsflushing13 variantsoverheard13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list