Kalee
A Hindu name meaning "the black one" or "goddess Kali".
Name Census estimates that about 3,828 living Americans carry the first name Kalee. It is a predominantly female name (98.1% of registrations). The average person named Kalee today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalee births was 1999 (189 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalee. 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 Kalee with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kalee is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 74 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 89,539 Americans
Peak year
1999
189 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2019 SSA rank
#7,746
Tracked since 1962
Census
Kalee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,575 people with the first name Kalee, which placed it at #4,972 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
#4,972
National first-name rank
People counted
3.6K
3,575 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalee is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Kalee 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 Kalee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 2,692
- Black or African American8.0% · 286
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 272
- Two or more races5.4% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 34
Gender
Gender distribution for Kalee
Kalee leans heavily female at 98.1% of total registrations, but 74 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kalee as a male name
- Ranked #11,440 in 2019
- 6 male births in 2019
- Peak: 1998 (7 births)
Kalee as a female name
- Ranked #7,746 in 2024
- 14 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (189 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalee leans strongly female. 3,469 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 107 male bearers (3.0%).
Popularity
Kalee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalee from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,638 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
Kalee 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 Kalee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Kalee, while Virginia, Nevada, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 58 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalee
The name Kalee finds its origins in the Sanskrit language, which originated in ancient India around the 2nd millennium BCE. It is derived from the word "Kali," which has several meanings, including "time," "death," and "black." In Hindu mythology, Kali is the name of the fearsome and powerful goddess associated with time, change, and destruction.
Historically, the name Kalee was primarily used in regions where Hinduism was prevalent, such as India, Nepal, and parts of Southeast Asia. It gained popularity as a name for girls born on the auspicious day of Kali Puja, a festival dedicated to the goddess Kali.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kalee can be found in the ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Devi Mahatmya, which dates back to around the 6th century CE. In this text, Kali is described as the manifestation of the divine feminine energy, embodying both creation and destruction.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Kalee. One of the earliest was Kalee Krishnath Shastree (1756-1828), an Indian scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit grammar and literature.
Another prominent individual was Kalee Bhugwandeen (1787-1864), an Indian indigo planter and industrialist who played a crucial role in the development of the indigo industry in Bengal during the British colonial era.
In more recent times, Kalee Purnell (1937-2021) was an American singer and actress best known for her work in Broadway musicals and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s.
Kalee Thompson (born 1984) is a contemporary Australian singer-songwriter and musician who has released several albums and toured internationally.
Kalee Nyree (born 1997) is a Canadian actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films, including the Netflix series "Tiny Pretty Things."
These examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Kalee across different cultures and time periods, reflecting its deep-rooted connections to ancient Hindu traditions and mythology.
People
Kalee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalee 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
Kalee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,828 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalee 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 89,539 US residents.
Is Kalee a common name?
We classify Kalee as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,949 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalee most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalee was 1999, when 189 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalee is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,575 people with the name Kalee, or 1.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,972 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 Kalee 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 Kalee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalee leans strongly female. 3,469 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 107 male bearers (3.0%). 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 Kalee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalee is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (7.6%). 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 Kalee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kalee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (2,692 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 Kalee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalee a female name?
Yes, 98.1% of people registered as Kalee 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 Kalee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalee 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 Kalee 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 Kalee?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.