Kalob
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "faithful follower".
Name Census estimates that about 1,642 living Americans carry the first name Kalob. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalob today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalob births was 2000 (123 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalob. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 208,742 Americans
Peak year
2000
123 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,228
Tracked since 1977
Census
Kalob in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,345 people with the first name Kalob, which placed it at #10,052 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
#10,052
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,345 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalob
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalob is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Kalob 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 Kalob at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 944
- Hispanic or Latino13.2% · 178
- Black or African American7.1% · 96
- Two or more races6.8% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 10
Popularity
Kalob: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalob 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 818 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
Kalob 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 Kalob during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalobs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kalob, while West Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalob
The name Kalob has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, originating in the ancient Middle East. It is believed to have derived from the Hebrew word "kalev," which means "dog" or "puppy." This name was likely initially given to children as a term of endearment, signifying loyalty, faithfulness, and devotion – qualities often associated with dogs.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kalob can be found in the Bible's Book of Joshua, where it is mentioned as the name of a spy sent by Moses to scout the land of Canaan. This biblical reference suggests that the name was in use among the ancient Israelites as early as the 13th century BCE.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kalob. One of the earliest recorded was Kalob ben David (c. 1050 BCE), a scribe and scholar in ancient Israel who is credited with preserving and transcribing many of the sacred texts that would later become part of the Hebrew Bible.
In the Middle Ages, Kalob ibn Ishaq (c. 1100 CE) was a renowned Jewish philosopher and theologian from Cordoba, Spain. His works on the reconciliation of religious faith and reason had a significant influence on both Jewish and Islamic thought during that era.
During the Renaissance, Kalob da Vinci (1452-1519) was a lesser-known but talented artist and inventor from Florence, Italy, who is said to have worked alongside his more famous namesake, Leonardo da Vinci.
In the 18th century, Kalob Franklin (1706-1790) was an American printer, author, and political activist who played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend and collaborator of Benjamin Franklin and is known for publishing influential pamphlets and newspapers that helped shape public opinion during that period.
More recently, Kalob Einstein (1879-1955) was a Swiss-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity and made numerous groundbreaking contributions to the field of physics. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century.
While the name Kalob has ancient roots and a rich history, it has remained relatively uncommon in most parts of the world, with only a few notable bearers throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, its enduring presence serves as a testament to the enduring cultural and linguistic heritage of the Hebrew people.
People
Kalob + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalob 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
Kalob: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalob?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,642 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalob 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 208,742 US residents.
Is Kalob a common name?
We classify Kalob as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,671 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalob most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalob was 2000, when 123 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalob is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalob in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,345 people with the name Kalob, or 0.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,052 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 Kalob 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 Kalob?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalob appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,340 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Kalob?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalob is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.2%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Kalob most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kalob in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (944 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 Kalob in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalob a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalob 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 Kalob still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalob 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 Kalob 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 called Kalob?
You can see how many people share the name Kalob on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.