Meaning and background
The story behind Kim
Kim is unusually compact, but it does not have one universal linguistic history. In English it often shortens Kimberly; in Scandinavian naming it can be linked to Joachim. Separately, Kim is a Korean family name written with a character meaning gold. Those are different traditions, not interchangeable translations. The single-syllable form is especially clear when called, with its exact cultural association depending on the person who chose it.
- Origin
- Multiple traditions: English short form of Kimberly; Scandinavian short form of Joachim; separately a Korean surname 김/金. Source
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Everyday moments“Kim, come here!”
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About Kim
Recorded as a dog’s name
Kim appears in 6 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/kɪm/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/kɪm/ · primary stress on syllable 1K IH1 M
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.