Kalif
Of Arabic origin meaning "successor, deputy".
Name Census estimates that about 396 living Americans carry the first name Kalif. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalif today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalif births was 1994 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalif. 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 Kalif with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
396
~ 1 in 865,541 Americans
Peak year
1994
29 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,191
Tracked since 1974
Census
Kalif in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 363 people with the first name Kalif, which placed it at #25,907 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
#25,907
National first-name rank
People counted
363
363 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalif
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalif is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Kalif 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 Kalif at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.5% · 296
- White6.9% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 11
- Two or more races2.8% · 10
Popularity
Kalif: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalif from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 171 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
Kalif 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 Kalif during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalifs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Kalif, while New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalif
The name Kalif has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, derived from the word "Khalifa," which means "successor" or "deputy." This name has a rich historical significance, particularly in the context of Islamic leadership and governance.
During the early years of Islam, the title "Khalifa" was bestowed upon the successors of the Prophet Muhammad, who were responsible for leading the Muslim community. The first four caliphs, known as the Rashidun Caliphs, were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, who ruled from 632 to 661 CE.
The name Kalif can be traced back to the Quran, the holy book of Islam, where the concept of a "Khalifa" is mentioned as a representative of God on Earth. This association with religious and political authority contributed to the widespread use of the name among Muslims.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Kalif dates back to the 7th century CE, when Caliph Mu'awiya I (602-680 CE) established the Umayyad Caliphate. This dynasty ruled from 661 to 750 CE and played a significant role in the expansion of the Islamic Empire.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Kalif or variations of it. One such figure was Al-Kalif Al-Nasr (913-976 CE), a Fatimid caliph who ruled from 975 to 976 CE and was known for his patronage of literature and the arts.
Another prominent individual with this name was Kalif Harun al-Rashid (763-809 CE), the fifth Abbasid caliph, who is renowned for his achievements in various fields, including governance, military campaigns, and the promotion of cultural and intellectual pursuits during the Islamic Golden Age.
In the modern era, Kalif Billah Shah (1271-1320 CE) was the last sultan of the Mamluk Sultanate in Delhi, India, and played a significant role in the history of the region.
Additionally, Kalif Ali Khan (1670-1719 CE) was a Mughal emperor who ruled parts of India from 1707 to 1712 CE and is remembered for his efforts to maintain the stability of the Mughal Empire during a turbulent period.
These are just a few examples of the historical figures who have carried the name Kalif, reflecting its deep-rooted connections to Islamic history, leadership, and cultural traditions.
People
Kalif + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalif 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
Kalif: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalif?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 396 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalif 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 865,541 US residents.
Is Kalif a common name?
We classify Kalif as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 407 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalif most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalif was 1994, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalif is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalif in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 363 people with the name Kalif, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,907 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 Kalif 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 Kalif?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalif leans strongly male. 352 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 9 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Kalif?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalif is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Hispanic (5.8%). 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 Kalif most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kalif in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.5% (296 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 Kalif in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalif a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalif 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 Kalif still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalif 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 Kalif 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 Kalif?
Find out how many people have the name Kalif on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.