Kimmerly is of American origin, derived from Kimberly, which in turn comes from the Middle English 'Cumbreley', meaning 'from the village of Cumber". It gained popularity in the United States during the 1970s and has since been used as both a given name and a surname. The variant spelling Kimmerly first appeared on US Social Security Administration records in the mid-20th century.
The name Kimmerly was most popular between the years 1958 and 1972 with a peak of 9 births in 1959. After that period, its popularity declined steadily, with only 5 births recorded in both 1965 and 1971. There were no reported births with this name between 1973 and 1981, followed by a brief resurgence with 5 births each in 1978 and 1982. Overall, there were 83 babies named Kimmerly born over the course of these years.