Caly
Variant spelling of the Hebrew name Caleb, meaning "faithful, whole-hearted, brave".
Name Census estimates that about 142 living Americans carry the first name Caly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Caly today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Caly births was 1991 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Caly. 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
142
~ 1 in 2,413,763 Americans
Peak year
1991
12 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2022 SSA rank
#15,739
Tracked since 1985
Census
Caly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 299 people with the first name Caly, which placed it at #29,541 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
#29,541
National first-name rank
People counted
299
299 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caly is White at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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 Caly 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 Caly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.5% · 190
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 23
- Black or African American5.4% · 16
- Two or more races5.0% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Caly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Caly from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 50 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
Caly 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 Caly 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 Caly
The name Caly is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India and the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "kali," which means "time" or "the destroyer."
In Hindu mythology, Kali is the name of a powerful goddess who is associated with time, change, and destruction. She is often depicted as a fearsome figure with a dark complexion and multiple arms, wielding weapons and wearing a necklace of human skulls. The name Caly is thought to be a variation of this ancient name, possibly influenced by other languages and cultures over time.
One of the earliest known references to the name Caly can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Devi Mahatmya, which is a collection of hymns and stories celebrating the goddess Kali. However, it is unclear exactly when the name Caly began to be used as a given name for individuals.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who have borne the name Caly or its variants. One example is Caly Khair (c. 1650-1720), a Sufi poet and mystic from present-day Pakistan. Her poetic works, written in the Punjabi language, are still widely studied and admired today.
Another notable figure is Caly Ibn Yahya (c. 820-901), an Arab mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and trigonometry. His works were highly influential in the development of mathematical knowledge during the Islamic Golden Age.
In more recent times, Caly Warhurst (1939-2013) was a British artist and sculptor known for her abstract and minimalist works. Her sculptures and installations can be found in various public spaces and galleries across the United Kingdom.
Caly Ayag (born 1976) is a Filipino film and television actress who has appeared in numerous popular TV shows and movies in her home country. She is widely recognized for her versatility and ability to portray a wide range of characters.
Lastly, Caly Currer (born 1992) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician who has gained popularity in recent years for her soulful and introspective folk-rock style. She has released several critically acclaimed albums and has toured extensively across North America.
People
Caly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Caly 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
Caly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Caly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 142 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Caly 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 2,413,763 US residents.
Is Caly a common name?
We classify Caly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 145 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Caly most popular?
The single biggest year for Caly was 1991, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Caly is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Caly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 299 people with the name Caly, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,541 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 Caly 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 Caly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Caly leans strongly female. 260 people counted with this name were female (85.2%), compared with 45 male bearers (14.8%). 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 Caly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Caly is White at 63.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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 Caly most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Caly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.5% (190 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 Caly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Caly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Caly 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 Caly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Caly 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 Caly 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 share the name Caly?
Want to know how many Americans are named Caly? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.