Calil
A masculine Arabic name derived from the word "Khalil" meaning "friend" or "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 211 living Americans carry the first name Calil. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Calil today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Calil births was 2021 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Calil. 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
211
~ 1 in 1,624,428 Americans
Peak year
2021
15 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,090
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Calil: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Calil from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 78 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Calil remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Calil 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 Calil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Calils live
Origin
Meaning and history of Calil
The given name Calil originated from the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "qalil," which means "little" or "small." The name likely emerged in the Middle East during the medieval period, around the 7th to 13th centuries.
Calil was a relatively uncommon name during the early Islamic era, but it gained some prominence in certain regions. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Calil ibn Ishaq, a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century. He was known for his contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics.
In the 11th century, a notable figure named Calil al-Rumi was born in the city of Rumi (now known as Antakya, Turkey). He was a Sufi mystic and poet whose works explored themes of spirituality and divine love. His poetry continues to be celebrated in various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia.
Another historical figure bearing the name Calil was Calil ibn Abi Bakr, a 12th-century physician from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). He was renowned for his expertise in ophthalmology and wrote several treatises on eye diseases and treatments.
In the 13th century, Calil al-Dimashqi was a prominent geographer and traveler from Damascus. He is best known for his detailed accounts of the regions he visited, including parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. His writings provided valuable insights into the geography, culture, and social customs of those areas during that time period.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Calil Bey was a notable Ottoman statesman and military leader. He served as the governor of various provinces within the Ottoman Empire and played a significant role in the expansion and consolidation of Ottoman power in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
While the name Calil was predominantly used in the Arab world and regions influenced by Islamic culture, it has also been adopted by other cultures and societies over time. However, its historical roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the Arabic language and the medieval period in the Middle East.
People
Calil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Calil 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
Calil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Calil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Calil 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 1,624,428 US residents.
Is Calil a common name?
We classify Calil as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 213 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Calil most popular?
The single biggest year for Calil was 2021, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Calil is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Calil a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Calil 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.
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.