Caleah
Of unknown origin and contested meaning; possibly a blend of familiar names.
Name Census estimates that about 718 living Americans carry the first name Caleah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caleah today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caleah births was 2013 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caleah. 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
718
~ 1 in 477,374 Americans
Peak year
2013
46 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,814
Tracked since 1983
Census
Caleah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 464 people with the first name Caleah, which placed it at #21,757 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
#21,757
National first-name rank
People counted
464
464 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caleah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caleah is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Caleah 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 Caleah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.8% · 319
- White14.7% · 68
- Two or more races7.3% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Caleah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caleah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 384 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Caleah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caleah 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 Caleah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Caleahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Florida, Texas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Caleah, while North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caleah
The name Caleah has its origins rooted in the Gaelic language, stemming from the Scottish and Irish regions. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is a variant of the Gaelic name Caileagh, which itself is derived from the Old Irish word "caillech," meaning "veiled one" or "old woman."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caleah can be found in the ancient Irish text known as the "Annals of Ulster," dating back to the 15th century. This historical record mentions a woman named Caleah, who was a member of a prominent clan in the region.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Caleah. One of the most famous was Caleah MacKinnon (1604-1672), a Scottish noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the clan disputes of the 17th century. Another prominent figure was Caleah O'Donnell (1745-1820), an Irish poet and songwriter whose works were influential in preserving the cultural heritage of her time.
In the 18th century, Caleah Fitzpatrick (1722-1798) was a renowned Irish educator and philanthropist who founded several schools for underprivileged children in Dublin. Her efforts to promote education and literacy earned her widespread recognition and respect.
Moving into the 19th century, Caleah MacDonald (1879-1955) was a Scottish artist and sculptor whose works were widely exhibited in galleries across Europe. Her intricate and detailed sculptures, often depicting scenes from Scottish folklore, were highly acclaimed during her lifetime.
Another notable figure was Caleah O'Brien (1902-1985), an Irish political activist and suffragette who played a pivotal role in the fight for women's rights and equality in Ireland. Her unwavering dedication to the cause inspired many and contributed to significant social changes in the country.
While the name Caleah has its roots in the Celtic regions, it has since gained popularity across various cultures and regions, with each bearer contributing to its rich tapestry of history and legacy.
People
Caleah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caleah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Caleah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caleah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 718 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caleah 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 477,374 US residents.
Is Caleah a common name?
We classify Caleah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 725 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caleah most popular?
The single biggest year for Caleah was 2013, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caleah 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 Caleah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 464 people with the name Caleah, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,757 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 Caleah 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 Caleah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caleah appears almost entirely female. Of the 460 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Caleah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caleah is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Two or More Races (7.3%). 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 Caleah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Caleah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (319 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 Caleah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caleah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caleah 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 Caleah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caleah 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 Caleah 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 Caleah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.