Kahlila
A feminine Arabic name meaning "friend" or "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 51 living Americans carry the first name Kahlila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kahlila today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kahlila births was 1981 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kahlila. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Kahlila. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
51
~ 1 in 6,720,673 Americans
Peak year
1981
7 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,334
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Kahlila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kahlila 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 17 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kahlila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kahlila 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 Kahlila 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 Kahlila
The given name Kahlila has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to the early centuries of the Islamic era. It is derived from the Arabic word "Khalil," which means "friend" or "beloved." The name holds significant cultural and religious connotations within the Islamic tradition.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Kahlila can be found in the sacred Islamic text, the Quran, where it is mentioned as one of the attributes of Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim). The Quran refers to Abraham as "Khalil Allah," meaning "the friend of God," highlighting his close relationship with the divine. This association has contributed to the name's popularity among Muslims.
Throughout history, the name Kahlila has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Kahlila bint Ahmad al-Qurashiya (born in the 8th century CE), a renowned Arab poet and scholar who lived during the Abbasid Caliphate. Her poetry and literary works are celebrated for their eloquence and depth.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Kahlila was Kahlila bint al-Husayn al-Tawhidi (born in the 10th century CE), a respected Islamic scholar and philosopher from Baghdad. She is renowned for her contributions to the fields of logic, ethics, and metaphysics, and her works have been widely studied and debated.
In the realm of literature, Kahlila is the name of a character in the famous Arabic literary work "Kalila wa Dimna," a collection of fables and stories that originated in ancient India and was later translated and adapted into Arabic. The character of Kahlila, a wise and virtuous jackal, serves as a moral guide throughout the tales, imparting valuable lessons on ethics, wisdom, and righteous living.
Moving forward in time, Kahlila al-Zahiri (born in the 13th century CE) was a prominent Syrian scholar and jurist who made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). Her legal opinions and rulings were highly regarded and influential during her time.
More recently, Kahlila Gibran (1889-1964), the sister of the renowned Lebanese-American writer and philosopher Kahlil Gibran, was a notable figure in her own right. She played a crucial role in preserving and promoting her brother's literary legacy, establishing the Gibran Memorial Museum in Boston to honor his life and work.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Kahlila throughout history, each leaving an indelible mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural heritage associated with this name.
People
Kahlila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kahlila 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
Kahlila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kahlila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 51 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kahlila 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 6,720,673 US residents.
Is Kahlila a common name?
We classify Kahlila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kahlila most popular?
The single biggest year for Kahlila was 1981, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kahlila is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kahlila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kahlila 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.
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.