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Home › Baby Names Directory › Kimbra

Kimbra

♀ Girl

Pronounced KIM-bruh /ˈkɪm.brə/Medium

Meaning: Kimbra is a coinage built from Kim, the front of Kimberly, an English surname and place name meaning roughly 'Cyneburg's field' or 'royal fortress meadow.' The -bra ending trims Kimberly to a short, distinctive form.Low

In 30 seconds: Kimbra is a clipped, remixed Kimberly (said 'KIM-bruh'). A rare 1960s pick that later gained a famous namesake in pop music.
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Origin LowEnglish
MeaningKimbra is a coinage built from Kim, the front of Kimberly, an English surname and place name meaning roughly 'Cyneburg's field' or 'royal fortress meadow.' The -bra ending trims Kimberly to a short, distinctive form.
U.S. rank (2015)#17887 ↘ Falling
2015 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1961
Total births (all-time)≈ 1,226

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 196119512015

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Kimbra pares Kimberly down to two beats, keeping the English place-name root behind Kim. It appeared as an American given name around mid-century and peaked near 1961, when Kimberly itself was surging; Kimbra stayed rare in its shadow.

A Kimbra from the peak is in her mid-sixties, but the name reads younger now thanks to its pop namesake. It has never been common and is best described as a distinctive alternative to Kimberly rather than a revival.

Did you know? The New Zealand singer Kimbra reached a global audience on Gotye's 2011 hit 'Somebody That I Used to Know,' giving this once-obscure name a modern face decades after its small American peak.
Overall data confidence 58%
References — Kimbra — Coinage from Kimberly; NZ singer namesake

Variations

KimberlyKimberleyKymbra

Nicknames

KimKimmie

Famous Bearers

  • ★Kimbra (1990–present)
    New Zealand singer-songwriter, featured on Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used to Know.'

If you like Kimbra…

Kimberly— the parent name Kimbra is trimmed from
Kim— the short form both names share
Kimber— a like modern trim of Kimberly
Cambria— a like two-beat name with a soft -bra/-bria ending

Explore names like Kimbra

By thememoderncoinageshortmusical

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Kimbra mean?

Kimbra is a short coinage from Kimberly, an English place name.

How do you pronounce Kimbra?

It's said KIM-bruh /ˈkɪm.brə/ — two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Kimbra a boy or girl name?

Kimbra is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Kimbra?

Kimbra is a rare name that had a small peak in the early nineteen-sixties and later gained a well-known musical namesake.

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