Caylah
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly a variant of Kayla.
Name Census estimates that about 398 living Americans carry the first name Caylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caylah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caylah births was 2008 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caylah. 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.
People living today
398
~ 1 in 861,192 Americans
Peak year
2008
27 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2018 SSA rank
#12,755
Tracked since 1989
Census
Caylah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 351 people with the first name Caylah, which placed it at #26,494 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
#26,494
National first-name rank
People counted
351
351 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caylah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caylah is Black at 44.7%. The next largest groups are White (36.5%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Caylah 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 Caylah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.7% · 157
- White36.5% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 33
- Two or more races7.1% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 8
Popularity
Caylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caylah from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 193 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Caylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caylah 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 Caylah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caylahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Caylah
The name Caylah is a relatively modern invention, with its origins traced back to the late 20th century. It is believed to be a feminine variation of the name Caleb, which has Hebrew roots and means "faithful" or "whole-hearted." While Caleb has a rich biblical history, appearing in the Old Testament as one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout the Promised Land, the name Caylah itself does not have any direct ties to ancient texts or religious scriptures.
Caylah's rise in popularity can be attributed to the growing trend of creating unique and creative names by altering the spellings or adding suffixes to traditional names. This practice became more widespread in the latter part of the 20th century, as parents sought to give their children distinctive identities. The name Caylah likely emerged as a result of this trend, with its appealing combination of sounds and unique spelling.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caylah can be found in the late 1980s, when it began appearing sporadically on birth records in various parts of the United States. However, it is important to note that accurate historical records for this relatively new name are limited, as it has not yet had the opportunity to establish a significant presence in historical texts or literature.
Despite its recent origins, a few notable individuals have carried the name Caylah throughout history. One such person is Caylah Brock, a Canadian singer-songwriter born in 1991, who has released several albums and gained recognition in the country music scene. Another is Caylah Kiel, an American artist and entrepreneur born in 1992, known for her vibrant abstract paintings and advocacy for mental health awareness.
Additionally, there is Caylah Jones, a British fashion model and influencer born in 1995, who has graced the covers of numerous magazines and collaborated with major brands. Caylah Eddleblute, an American actress born in 1997, has also made her mark in several television shows and films, showcasing her talent on the silver screen.
While the name Caylah may be relatively new, it has already carved out its own unique identity and has been embraced by parents seeking a fresh and distinctive name for their daughters. As time passes, it will be interesting to observe how this name continues to evolve and potentially develop a richer historical tapestry of its own.
People
Caylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caylah 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
Caylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 398 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caylah 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 861,192 US residents.
Is Caylah a common name?
We classify Caylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 405 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Caylah was 2008, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caylah is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caylah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 351 people with the name Caylah, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,494 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 Caylah 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 Caylah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caylah leans strongly female. 359 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Caylah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caylah is Black at 44.7%. The next largest groups are White (36.5%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Caylah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Caylah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.7% (157 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 Caylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caylah 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 Caylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caylah 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 Caylah 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 are named Caylah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.