Caleigha
A feminine variant of the Scottish name Cayleigh, of uncertain meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the first name Caleigha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caleigha today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caleigha births was 2017 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caleigha. 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
183
~ 1 in 1,872,975 Americans
Peak year
2017
15 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,266
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Caleigha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caleigha from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 118 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Caleigha 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 Caleigha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Caleigha
The name Caleigha is a relatively modern invention, derived from the Scottish name Callie or Caleigh, which itself is a feminine form of the male name Colin. Colin is a medieval diminutive of the Old Gaelic names Cailean and Colum, meaning "dove" or "child." The spelling with the added "gh" is likely an attempt to make the name look more unique and perhaps give it a more romantic or old-fashioned flair.
While the names Colin and Callie have a long history dating back to medieval Scotland, the particular spelling Caleigha is a recent development, likely originating in the late 20th century. There are no known historical references or famous figures throughout history that bore this exact spelling.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Caleigha are likely from birth records in the United States and other English-speaking countries from the 1980s or later. It is primarily an anglicized and "creatively spelled" version of the traditional Scottish names, reflecting a trend in modern baby naming toward unique and unconventional spellings.
As the name Caleigha is a modern invention, there are no well-known historical figures throughout history that bore this exact spelling. However, some notable individuals with the related names Colin, Callie, or Caleigh include:
1. Colin Powell (1937-2021), American statesman and military leader who served as Secretary of State.
2. Colin Firth (born 1960), British actor known for roles in films like Pride and Prejudice and The King's Speech.
3. Callie Khouri (born 1957), American screenwriter and director, best known for writing the film Thelma & Louise.
4. Caleigh Lewin (born 1998), Canadian actress known for roles in Stranger Things and The Babysitter.
5. Colin Kaepernick (born 1987), American football quarterback and civil rights activist.
It is important to note that while these individuals share similar names, none of them are specifically recorded as having the spelling "Caleigha."
People
Caleigha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caleigha 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
Caleigha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caleigha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caleigha 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 1,872,975 US residents.
Is Caleigha a common name?
We classify Caleigha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caleigha most popular?
The single biggest year for Caleigha was 2017, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caleigha is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Caleigha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caleigha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caleigha 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 Caleigha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caleigha 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 Caleigha 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Caleigha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.