Kaliyah
A feminine name meaning "victorious", "prosperous", or "blessed" in Arabic.
Name Census estimates that about 12,034 living Americans carry the first name Kaliyah. It sits at #443 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaliyah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaliyah births was 2024 (701 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaliyah. 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 Kaliyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Kaliyah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
12K
~ 1 in 28,482 Americans
Peak year
2024
701 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2004 SSA rank
#443
Tracked since 1994
Census
Kaliyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,847 people with the first name Kaliyah, which placed it at #3,177 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
#3,177
National first-name rank
People counted
6.8K
6,847 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaliyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaliyah is Black at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.9%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Kaliyah 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 Kaliyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.2% · 4,806
- Two or more races12.9% · 881
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 610
- White5.5% · 374
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 79
Gender
Gender distribution for Kaliyah
Out of the 12,151 babies given the name Kaliyah since 1880, 100.0% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kaliyah as a male name
- Ranked #12,290 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 2004 (5 births)
Kaliyah as a female name
- Ranked #443 in 2024
- 701 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (701 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaliyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,843 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kaliyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaliyah from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5,470 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaliyah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaliyah 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 Kaliyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaliyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Texas, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Kaliyah, while Idaho, Alaska, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 276 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaliyah
The name Kaliyah is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the early Islamic era. It is a feminine name derived from the Arabic word "kali," which means "beloved" or "dear one." The name carries a sense of affection and endearment.
Historically, the name Kaliyah gained prominence in regions with a strong Arabic cultural influence, particularly in the Middle East and parts of North Africa. Its usage can be found in ancient Arabic texts and literature, reflecting the cultural significance of names with endearing meanings.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Kaliyah was a renowned 10th-century Arab poet and scholar from Cordoba, Spain. Known for her poetic talents and intellectual prowess, she left a lasting impact on the literary and academic circles of her time.
Another prominent figure was Kaliyah bint al-Husayn, a 9th-century Muslim princess and scholar from the Abbasid Caliphate. She was renowned for her knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the advancement of women's education during that era.
In the 12th century, Kaliyah al-Dimashqi was a respected scholar and physician from Damascus, Syria. Her extensive knowledge of herbal medicine and natural remedies earned her recognition throughout the region.
During the 14th century, Kaliyah al-Andalusiya was a celebrated calligraphist and artist from the Andalusian region of Spain. Her intricate calligraphic works were highly sought after and displayed in renowned institutions of the time.
In the 16th century, Kaliyah al-Maghribiya was a renowned poet and writer from Morocco. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, were widely appreciated and influential in the literary circles of her era.
While the name Kaliyah has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in the Arab world and regions influenced by Arabic culture, its usage has also spread to other parts of the world due to cultural exchange and migration patterns.
People
Kaliyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaliyah 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
Kaliyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaliyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,034 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaliyah 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 28,482 US residents.
Is Kaliyah a common name?
We classify Kaliyah as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12,151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaliyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaliyah was 2024, when 701 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaliyah is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaliyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,847 people with the name Kaliyah, or 2.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,177 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 Kaliyah 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 Kaliyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaliyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,843 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kaliyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaliyah is Black at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.9%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Kaliyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kaliyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (4,806 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 Kaliyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaliyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaliyah 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 Kaliyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaliyah 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 Kaliyah 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 the name Kaliyah?
Want to know how many people have the name Kaliyah? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.