Kaleb
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "wholehearted" or "faithful".
Name Census estimates that about 84,526 living Americans carry the first name Kaleb. It sits at #278 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaleb today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaleb births was 2007 (3,829 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaleb. 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 Kaleb with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kaleb is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 202 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
85K
~ 1 in 4,055 Americans
Peak year
2007
3,829 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#278
Tracked since 1970
Census
Kaleb in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 68,288 people with the first name Kaleb, which placed it at #745 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
#745
National first-name rank
People counted
68K
68,288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
22.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaleb
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaleb is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Hispanic (12.4%). 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 Kaleb 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 Kaleb at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.7% · 41,440
- Black or African American17.2% · 11,768
- Hispanic or Latino12.4% · 8,491
- Two or more races6.8% · 4,671
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 1,087
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 831
Gender
Gender distribution for Kaleb
Out of the 85,685 babies given the name Kaleb since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Kaleb as a male name
- Ranked #278 in 2024
- 1,221 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (3,819 births)
Kaleb as a female name
- Ranked #17,082 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 2004 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaleb appears almost entirely male. Of the 68,291 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Kaleb: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaleb from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 34,859 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaleb 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 Kaleb during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalebs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Kaleb, while Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,653 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaleb
The name Kaleb has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, with the earliest known use dating back to ancient biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "kelev," which means "dog" or "faithful." In the Old Testament of the Bible, Caleb was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan, and he was rewarded for his faithful reporting.
In addition to its biblical roots, the name Kaleb has been popular throughout history in various cultures and regions. In ancient Greece, a similar name, "Kalibos," was used, meaning "good dog" or "loyal companion." This variation was likely influenced by the Hebrew name's meaning and association with faithfulness.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kaleb can be found in the biblical Book of Numbers, which mentions Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as one of the two spies who remained faithful to God during the Exodus. He was rewarded with the promise of inheriting the land of Hebron.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kaleb. In the 4th century AD, Saint Caleb was a Christian martyr who was executed for his faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Another historical figure with this name was Caleb Cushing (1800-1879), an American politician and diplomat who served as the Attorney General of the United States under President Franklin Pierce.
In the realm of literature, Caleb Williams is the title character of a novel by William Godwin, published in 1794. The novel explores themes of justice, oppression, and the pursuit of truth, and Caleb Williams represents the struggle against tyranny and corruption.
Other notable individuals named Kaleb include Caleb Bradham (1867-1934), the American pharmacist and businessman who invented the popular soft drink Pepsi-Cola, and Caleb Landry Jones (born 1989), an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Get Out" and "X-Men: First Class."
The name Kaleb has endured throughout the centuries, carrying with it a rich history and a meaning that resonates with concepts of loyalty, faithfulness, and steadfastness. Its biblical origins and cultural significance have contributed to its enduring popularity across various regions and religions.
People
Kaleb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaleb as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kaleb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaleb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84,526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaleb 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 4,055 US residents.
Is Kaleb a common name?
We classify Kaleb as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 85,685 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaleb most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaleb was 2007, when 3,829 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaleb is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaleb in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 68,288 people with the name Kaleb, or 22.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #745 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 Kaleb 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 Kaleb?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaleb appears almost entirely male. Of the 68,291 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Kaleb?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaleb is White at 60.7%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Hispanic (12.4%). 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 Kaleb most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaleb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.7% (41,440 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 Kaleb in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaleb a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Kaleb in the SSA data are male. 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 Kaleb still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaleb 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 Kaleb 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 Kaleb as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Kaleb on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.