Kaileigh
A feminine variant of the Scottish name Cayley or Cailleach.
Name Census estimates that about 2,700 living Americans carry the first name Kaileigh. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaileigh today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaileigh births was 2004 (124 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaileigh. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kaileigh with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,946 Americans
Peak year
2004
124 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,019
Tracked since 1985
Census
Kaileigh in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,221 people with the first name Kaileigh, which placed it at #7,019 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
#7,019
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaileigh
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaileigh is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Kaileigh 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 Kaileigh at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.1% · 1,534
- Black or African American11.9% · 264
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 196
- Two or more races7.6% · 169
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 23
Popularity
Kaileigh: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaileigh 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 1,058 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
Kaileigh 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 Kaileigh during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaileighs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Texas, California, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Kaileigh, while Maryland, Kentucky, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaileigh
The name Kaileigh is a modern English variant of the Scottish Gaelic name Cailleach, which means "old woman" or "veiled one." The name has its roots in ancient Celtic mythology, where the Cailleach was a powerful goddess associated with winter, storms, and the cycle of life and death.
In early Celtic folklore, the Cailleach was depicted as an old woman with a staff or wand, representing the harsh winter months. She was believed to bring storms and blustery weather, but her departure in spring signaled the arrival of new life and growth. The name Cailleach may also be related to the Gaelic word "caille," meaning "veil" or "hood," referring to the goddess's veiled or hooded appearance.
The name Kaileigh emerged as a modern anglicized spelling of the traditional Gaelic name Cailleach. While the name has its origins in ancient Celtic mythology, there are no known historical records or texts that specifically mention individuals named Kaileigh or Cailleach from that time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kaileigh dates back to the late 20th century, when it began to gain popularity as a feminine given name in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The spelling variation Kaileigh may have been influenced by the trend of adding unique or creative spellings to traditional names.
Throughout history, the name Cailleach has been associated with several notable individuals, although the spelling Kaileigh is relatively modern. Here are five examples:
1. Cailleach Bheur (dates unknown): In Scottish folklore, Cailleach Bheur was a powerful winter goddess who was believed to bring storms and harsh weather. She was often depicted as an old woman with a staff or wand.
2. Cailleach Beara (dates unknown): In Irish mythology, Cailleach Beara was a goddess associated with the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. She was believed to be the personification of the land itself and was revered for her power over the natural world.
3. Cailleach Mor (dates unknown): In Scottish and Irish folklore, Cailleach Mor was a legendary figure who was said to have created many of the mountains and geographical features of the Scottish Highlands and Ireland.
4. Caitlín Ní Uallacháin (1566-1600): Caitlín Ní Uallacháin was an Irish noblewoman and poet who lived during the 16th century. She is renowned for her poetry, which often celebrated the beauty of nature and the Irish landscape.
5. Caileigh Filmer-Diggory (born 1985): Caileigh Filmer-Diggory is a contemporary Australian actress and model, best known for her roles in television series such as "All Saints" and "Home and Away."
People
Kaileigh + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaileigh 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
Kaileigh: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaileigh?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,700 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaileigh 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 126,946 US residents.
Is Kaileigh a common name?
We classify Kaileigh as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,749 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaileigh most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaileigh was 2004, when 124 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaileigh is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kaileigh in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,221 people with the name Kaileigh, or 0.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,019 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 Kaileigh 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 Kaileigh?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kaileigh appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,224 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Kaileigh?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kaileigh is White at 69.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.9%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Kaileigh most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kaileigh in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.1% (1,534 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 Kaileigh in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaileigh a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaileigh 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 Kaileigh still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaileigh 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 Kaileigh 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 are named Kaileigh?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.