Kalib
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "faithful dog".
Name Census estimates that about 1,513 living Americans carry the first name Kalib. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalib today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalib births was 2006 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalib. 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 Kalib with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,540 Americans
Peak year
2006
96 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,015
Tracked since 1975
Census
Kalib in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,290 people with the first name Kalib, which placed it at #10,377 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
#10,377
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalib
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalib is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.9%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Kalib 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 Kalib at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.0% · 671
- Black or African American27.9% · 360
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 120
- Two or more races9.0% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
Popularity
Kalib: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalib 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 721 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
Kalib 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 Kalib during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalibs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Ohio, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Kalib, while Oregon, Maryland, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalib
The name Kalib has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "kalav," which means "dog" or "puppy." This name is closely associated with the Biblical figure Caleb, who was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to explore the Promised Land.
In the Book of Numbers, Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies who remained faithful to God and encouraged the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan. Caleb's unwavering faith and courage earned him a special blessing from God, and he was granted the territory of Hebron as an inheritance.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kalib can be found in ancient Hebrew texts, including the Torah and other biblical passages. It gained popularity among Jewish communities throughout the Middle East and Europe during the medieval period.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Kalib was Caleb Carpenter (1644-1705), an English Puritan minister and author who served as a chaplain during the English Civil War. He wrote several influential theological works and was a prominent figure in the early Baptist movement.
Another historical figure bearing the name Kalib was Caleb Cushing (1800-1879), an American politician and diplomat who served as the Attorney General of the United States under President Franklin Pierce. He played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of Wanghia with China in 1844, which helped establish trade relations between the two nations.
In the realm of literature, Caleb Williams (1794) is a renowned novel by William Godwin, which explores themes of social justice, power, and individual freedom. The protagonist, Caleb Williams, becomes embroiled in a struggle against his tyrannical master, exposing the corrupting influence of unchecked authority.
Another notable figure was Caleb Bradham (1867-1934), an American businessman and inventor who created the popular soft drink Pepsi-Cola. He initially marketed it as a digestive aid and brain tonic before it gained widespread popularity as a refreshing beverage.
Caleb Cushing (1842-1899), an American attorney and politician, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and played a significant role in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Throughout history, the name Kalib has carried connotations of courage, faithfulness, and perseverance, reflecting the qualities embodied by its biblical namesake. Its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods attests to its timeless appeal.
People
Kalib + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalib 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
Kalib: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalib?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,513 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalib 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 226,540 US residents.
Is Kalib a common name?
We classify Kalib as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,537 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalib most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalib was 2006, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalib 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 Kalib in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,290 people with the name Kalib, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,377 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 Kalib 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 Kalib?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalib appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,301 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Kalib?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalib is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.9%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Kalib most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kalib in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (671 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 Kalib in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalib a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalib 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 Kalib still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalib 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 Kalib 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 share the name Kalib?
Want to know how many people share the name Kalib? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.