Kaleem
A masculine Arabic name meaning "one who speaks with authority".
Name Census estimates that about 438 living Americans carry the first name Kaleem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kaleem today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaleem births was 2016 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaleem. 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 Kaleem with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
438
~ 1 in 782,544 Americans
Peak year
2016
21 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,014
Tracked since 1977
Census
Kaleem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 546 people with the first name Kaleem, which placed it at #19,393 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
#19,393
National first-name rank
People counted
546
546 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaleem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaleem is Black at 54.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Kaleem 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 Kaleem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.0% · 295
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.5% · 183
- Two or more races4.8% · 26
- White3.5% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 4
Popularity
Kaleem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaleem 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 115 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kaleem remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaleem 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 Kaleem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaleems live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaleem
The name Kaleem is an Arabic name that has its origins in the Middle East. It is derived from the Arabic word "kalima," which means "word" or "speech." The name is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, as it is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Muslims.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kaleem dates back to the 7th century, when it was given to a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. This companion, known as Kaleem ibn al-Abbas, was known for his eloquence and mastery of the Arabic language.
Throughout history, the name Kaleem has been associated with scholars, poets, and writers. In the 9th century, there was a famous poet named Kaleem al-Nahrawani, who was known for his beautiful verses and his ability to capture the essence of human emotions in his work.
Another notable figure who bore the name Kaleem was Kaleem Siddiqui, a 20th-century scholar and activist from India. He was born in 1892 and dedicated his life to promoting the rights of Muslims in South Asia. He was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement and played a significant role in the formation of Pakistan.
In the field of literature, Kaleem Ajiz was a Pakistani poet and writer who lived from 1923 to 1997. He was known for his ghazals, a form of poetry that originated in Persia and became popular in South Asia. His work was celebrated for its depth, emotion, and mastery of the Urdu language.
One of the most famous figures to bear the name Kaleem in recent times was Kaleem Siddiqui, a Pakistani spiritual leader and scholar who lived from 1932 to 1994. He was the founder of the Dawat-e-Islami, a Islamic movement that aimed to promote the teachings of Islam through peaceful means. He was widely respected for his knowledge of Islamic teachings and his commitment to promoting peace and harmony.
While the name Kaleem has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has also been embraced by people of other faiths and backgrounds. The name is believed to carry a sense of eloquence, wisdom, and the ability to communicate effectively, which may be why it has endured throughout history and across various cultures.
People
Kaleem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaleem 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
Kaleem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaleem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 438 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaleem 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 782,544 US residents.
Is Kaleem a common name?
We classify Kaleem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 446 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaleem most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaleem was 2016, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaleem 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 Kaleem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 546 people with the name Kaleem, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,393 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 Kaleem 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 Kaleem?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaleem leans strongly male. 518 people counted with this name were male (96.1%), compared with 21 female bearers (3.9%). 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 Kaleem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaleem is Black at 54.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.5%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Kaleem most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kaleem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.0% (295 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 Kaleem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaleem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaleem 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 Kaleem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaleem 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 Kaleem 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 Americans are named Kaleem?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Kaleem at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.