NameCensus.

UK surname

Kimm

A anglicized variant of the German surname Kümmel, referring to one who grew cumin.

In the 1881 census there were 118 people recorded with the Kimm surname, ranking it #17,935 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 183, ranked #20,813, down from #17,935 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Stanton All Saints and Stanton St John, Dumfries and St Leonard Bromley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Earnock, Broxbourne and Norwich.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Kimm is 198 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 55.1%.

1881 census count

118

Ranked #17,935

Modern count

183

2016, ranked #20,813

Peak year

1998

198 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Kimm had 118 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #17,935 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 183 in 2016, ranked #20,813.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 157 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Kimm surname distribution map

The map shows where the Kimm surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Kimm surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Kimm over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 64 #21,914
1861 historical 62 #26,041
1881 historical 118 #17,935
1891 historical 149 #18,420
1901 historical 157 #17,577
1911 historical 132 #19,313
1997 modern 195 #17,912
1998 modern 198 #18,224
1999 modern 196 #18,464
2000 modern 195 #18,494
2001 modern 184 #18,907
2002 modern 195 #18,590
2003 modern 177 #19,549
2004 modern 180 #19,424
2005 modern 170 #20,066
2006 modern 177 #19,738
2007 modern 179 #19,811
2008 modern 175 #20,311
2009 modern 178 #20,486
2010 modern 183 #20,586
2011 modern 176 #20,957
2012 modern 180 #20,606
2013 modern 180 #20,954
2014 modern 177 #21,340
2015 modern 175 #21,372
2016 modern 183 #20,813

Geography

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Where Kimms are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Stanton All Saints and Stanton St John, Dumfries, St Leonard Bromley, Little Baddow and London parishes. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Earnock, Broxbourne, Norwich, Herefordshire and Thurrock. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Stanton All Saints and Stanton St John Suffolk
2 Dumfries Dumfries
3 St Leonard Bromley London (East Districts)
4 Little Baddow Essex
5 London parishes London 2

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Earnock South Lanarkshire
2 Broxbourne 003 Broxbourne
3 Norwich 014 Norwich
4 Herefordshire 021 Herefordshire, County of
5 Thurrock 012 Thurrock

Forenames

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First names often paired with Kimm

These lists show first names that appear often with the Kimm surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Kimm

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Kimm, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Kimm surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Kimm household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Kimm is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Kimm is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Kimm falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Kimm is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Kimm, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Kimm

The surname Kimm has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the late medieval period. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German word "kimme," which referred to a ridge or summit, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name lived near or on a prominent ridge.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kimm surname can be found in the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Johannes Kimm is mentioned in a local church record from 1457. Another early reference comes from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, where a Konrad Kimm is listed in a tax registry from 1492.

In the 16th century, the Kimm name appeared in various parts of southern Germany, including the regions of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Notable individuals from this period include Hans Kimm (1512-1587), a respected blacksmith from Augsburg, and Margarethe Kimm (1529-1602), a prominent midwife from Nuremberg.

As the centuries passed, the Kimm surname spread to other parts of Germany and beyond. In the 18th century, Johann Philipp Kimm (1737-1812) was a respected theologian and author from Saxony, while Johann Jakob Kimm (1764-1822) was a renowned clockmaker from the town of Triberg in the Black Forest region.

One of the most famous bearers of the Kimm name was the German-American botanist and explorer Adolf Kimm (1858-1932), who led several expeditions to South America and discovered several new plant species. Other notable individuals include the German painter and sculptor Erich Kimm (1878-1942) and the German-American engineer and inventor Walter Kimm (1907-1988), who held numerous patents in the field of automotive technology.

While the Kimm surname is most closely associated with Germany, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, including Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands, likely due to migration patterns over the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Kimm families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Kimm surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Kirkcudbrightshire leads with 50 Kimms recorded in 1881 and an index of 300.12x.

County Total Index
Kirkcudbrightshire 50 300.12x
Middlesex 19 1.65x
Norfolk 10 5.65x
Warwickshire 7 2.41x
Staffordshire 5 1.29x
Sussex 5 2.58x
Cambridgeshire 4 5.49x
Ayrshire 3 3.48x
Bedfordshire 3 5.03x
Durham 3 0.88x
Hertfordshire 3 3.78x
Essex 2 0.88x
Surrey 2 0.36x
Dumfriesshire 1 3.93x
Kent 1 0.25x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Urr in Kirkcudbrightshire leads with 18 Kimms recorded in 1881 and an index of 829.49x.

Place Total Index
Urr 18 829.49x
Newabbey 10 2777.78x
Kirkgunzeon 7 2692.31x
North Walsham 7 546.88x
Hornsey 6 41.21x
Kirkpatrick Durham 6 1153.85x
Tongland 6 1818.18x
Bromley London 5 19.75x
Hastings St Mary 5 103.52x
Horninglow 5 273.22x
Islington London 5 4.48x
Aston 4 5.00x
St Andrewthe Less 4 48.02x
Dalry 3 74.07x
Leamington Priors 3 42.02x
Luton 3 29.07x
Stranton 3 26.02x
Thetford St Mary 3 625.00x
Broxbourne 2 127.39x
Camberwell 2 2.72x
Kelton 2 145.99x
Little Baddow 2 952.38x
Buittle 1 256.41x
Chelsea London 1 2.88x
Gillingham 1 12.35x
Hammersmith London 1 3.53x
Norwood 1 38.02x
St Mungo 1 384.62x
Watford 1 16.26x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Kimm surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Emma 4
Annie 3
Elizabeth 2
Ellen 2
Louisa 2
Maria 2
Mary 2
Alice 1
Catherine 1
Charlotte 1
Eliza 1
Fanny 1
Hester 1
Kate 1
Lucy 1
Margorat 1
Sara 1
Sarah 1
Susan 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Kimm surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Robert 4
William 4
Albert 3
James 3
Thomas 3
Ernest 2
Frederick 2
Henry 2
Richard 2
Bertie 1
David 1
Edward 1
George 1
Harry 1
Henery 1
Herbert 1
John 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Kimm surname: questions and answers

How common was the Kimm surname in 1881?

In 1881, 118 people were recorded with the Kimm surname. That placed it at #17,935 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Kimm surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 183 in 2016. That gives Kimm a modern rank of #20,813.

What does the Kimm surname mean?

A anglicized variant of the German surname Kümmel, referring to one who grew cumin.

What does the Kimm map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Kimm bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.