Meaning: Its source is Kimberly, an English name meaning "Cyneburg's field."

Nickname For: Kim and Kimberly

Narrative: In addition to its English associations, Kim is the common Western spelling of a Korean surname meaning ''gold.''

British writer Rudyard Kipling used Kim as the nickname of a male character (whose full name was Kimball) in 1901. However, that usage was overwhelmed by the popular interest in a female character named Kim in Edna Ferber's 1926 novel Showboat. This story of life on the Mississippi was later made into a Broadway musical that has enjoyed repeated revivals through the 1990s.

An American actress born Marilyn Novak in 1932 changed her name to Kim as she began her career in the early 1950s. She proceeded to impress her sultry femininity upon the name in a series of successful films, including Man with the Golden Arm, Vertigo and Bell, Book and Candle.