Caley
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "from the stream".
Name Census estimates that about 2,538 living Americans carry the first name Caley. It is a predominantly female name (94.2% of registrations). The average person named Caley today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caley births was 1994 (109 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Caley with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 135,049 Americans
Peak year
1994
109 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1992 SSA rank
#8,594
Tracked since 1928
Census
Caley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,487 people with the first name Caley, which placed it at #6,443 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,443
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,487 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caley is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Caley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Caley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.8% · 2,035
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 164
- Two or more races4.9% · 121
- Black or African American3.6% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 23
Gender
Gender distribution for Caley
Caley leans heavily female at 94.2% of total registrations, but 151 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Caley as a male name
- Ranked #8,594 in 1992
- 5 male births in 1992
- Peak: 1979 (16 births)
Caley as a female name
- Ranked #15,672 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (109 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caley leans strongly female. 2,289 people counted with this name were female (92.1%), compared with 196 male bearers (7.9%).
Popularity
Caley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caley from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 872 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Caley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. California, Texas, Colorado recorded the most babies named Caley, while Oklahoma, New York, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caley
The name Caley is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which is a Celtic language spoken primarily in Scotland and Ireland. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word "cailleach," which means "old woman" or "nun."
In ancient Celtic mythology, the Cailleach was a powerful female figure associated with winter, storms, and the natural world. She was often depicted as an old woman or a hag, but was also revered as a wise and powerful goddess. The name Caley may have been used to honor this mythological figure or to invoke her protection.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Caley can be found in the 16th century Scottish text, "The Complaynt of Scotland," written in 1549. This literary work mentions a character named "Caley," though it is unclear whether this was a given name or a surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Caley. One of the most well-known was Caley Rea (1782-1859), an Irish-born botanist and horticulturist who worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. He made significant contributions to the study and cultivation of plants, and many species were named in his honor.
Another notable figure was Caley Tiffault (1923-2008), a Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1940s. He was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 1946.
In the world of literature, Caley Nalin (1924-2002) was an American poet and writer known for her works exploring themes of nature, spirituality, and the human experience. Her poetry collections include "The Burning Field" (1972) and "Transcendence" (1984).
In the field of art, Caley Griego (1906-1998) was a Mexican-American painter and printmaker renowned for her depictions of Southwestern landscapes and Native American subjects. Her works are held in numerous museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Finally, Caley Donovan (1926-2016) was an Australian actor and director who had a successful career in theater, film, and television. She was known for her performances in productions such as "The Crucible" and "Macbeth," and was awarded the Order of Australia for her contributions to the arts.
People
Caley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,538 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 135,049 US residents.
Is Caley a common name?
We classify Caley as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,624 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caley most popular?
The single biggest year for Caley was 1994, when 109 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caley is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,487 people with the name Caley, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,443 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Caley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Caley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caley leans strongly female. 2,289 people counted with this name were female (92.1%), compared with 196 male bearers (7.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Caley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caley is White at 81.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Caley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.8% (2,035 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Caley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caley a female name?
Yes, 94.2% of people registered as Caley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Caley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Caley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Caley as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.