The Kimball surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 23,293 people carried this name — #1,544 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 22,990 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Kimball surname

From Old Welsh Cynbel, from cyn (“chief”) + bel (“war”). Possibly also from Old English Cynebeald.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kimball» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Kimble’.

His entry covers Kimball, Kimble and Kimbel.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 451 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

442 families named Kimball, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,624 people lived in those households, 5.9 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 21 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 137
Massachusetts 115
Maine 56
Pennsylvania 28
Connecticut 23
Vermont 18
New York 18
North Carolina 14
Rhode Island 13
Maryland 8
South Carolina 7
Virginia 5

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 248 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Kimball in American newspapers,
1883–1900.

Newspaper page from The Kimball Graphic carrying the name Kimball
The Kimball Graphic 1885-10-02
Newspaper page from The Kimball Graphic carrying the name Kimball
The Kimball Graphic 1900-10-27
Newspaper page from Kimball Enterprise carrying the name Kimball
Kimball Enterprise 1883-04-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 634,096 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Kimball in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

3,696 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kimball. The most, 1,232, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,376
Victoria 938
Queensland 591
South Australia 429
Western Australia 193
Tasmania 96
ACT (Canberra) 48
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Kimball.

Who carried it

People named Kimball,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jeannie Lawrence Perkins d. 1927
  • Tweet Kimball d. 1999 · rancher
  • Richard Kimball 1664–1711
  • Benjamin Kimball 1695–1752
  • Ruth Kimball 1710–1790
  • Jonathan Kimball 1720–1807

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Kimball,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States2,303 records

2,303 records of the Kimball name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 885
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 536
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 434
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 236
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 103
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 78
  • Sacramento County historic burials 16
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lester M. Kimball

    Born 1900 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1942 at Milwaukee; hospital attendant from Milwaukee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1953, buried at Wood National Cemetery, Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Timothy E. Kimball

    Born 1931; from Kent County, Delaware. U.S. Army, field artillery cannoneer; killed in action 1951 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emmerson A. Kimball

    Arrived at New York in 1896 aboard the Friesland from Antwerp, aged 29; teacher. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 2,303 records for Kimball in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada53 records

53 records of the Kimball name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 35
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 5
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mabel Christina Kimball

    Buried in 1996 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 95.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Emelene Kimball

    Died 1931 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Richard George Kimball

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 53 records for Kimball in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia24 records

24 records of the Kimball name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 9
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Keith William Kimball

    Retired of Nunawading, Victoria; died 1992.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Daniel Kimball

    Left Hobart Town in 1851 aboard the Pet, bound for Whaling Voyage, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robert Kimball

    Arrived in Victoria in 1863 aboard the Queen Bee.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 24 records for Kimball in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands16 records

16 records of the Kimball name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 12
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Frederick Arthur Kimball

    Died 1969 in Zeist, aged 89.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edna Veronica Kimball

    Died 1954 in aan boord van het stoomschip 'Maasdam', aged 59.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Franklin Eaton Kimball

    In the population register of Nijmegen; "kostleerling", born 1878 in Tjikandi.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Nijmegen (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Kimball in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Kimball.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Kimball is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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