Kim

Kim is a name with multiple independent origins. As an English-language name, it originated as a short form of Kimberley, itself derived from the South African city of Kimberley, which was named after the British statesman Lord Kimberley and combines an Old English personal name with the element ley, meaning woodland clearing. In Korean, Kim is the most common surname repurposed as a given name, written 김 and meaning gold. As a Scandinavian masculine name it developed as a short form of the Old Norse name Joakim, itself a form of the Hebrew name Joachim meaning God will establish. Related forms include Kimberley, Kimberly, and Joakim.