Kimball (variants: Kembal, Kembel, Kembell, Kemble, Kembold, Kembolde, Kemple, Kimbal, Kimball, Kimbel, Kimble) is a relatively common English language surname – it is also a given name, although relatively rare. It is Old Welsh for "war chief," Old Celtic for "leader of men," and Anglo-Saxon for "leader of the warriors." Rudyard Kipling reports it as Old English for "kin bold, brave king." As a given name, Kimball is often contracted to "Kim." Kemball is also a place in Hitcham, Suffolk, England where the family originates from around the 14th Century. The Scottish variant Kemble refer to a place (of origin) that means "beautiful field".

Fictional characters

• Kimball Cho, agent in the hit television show The Mentalist
• Kimball Kinnison, hero of E. E. Smith's Galactic Patrol, the first novel in the Lensman series
• Kimball O'Hara, the protagonist of Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim