Kalah
A feminine given name derived from the Arabic word for "talk".
Name Census estimates that about 750 living Americans carry the first name Kalah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kalah today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalah births was 1991 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalah. 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
750
~ 1 in 457,006 Americans
Peak year
1991
54 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2014 SSA rank
#17,806
Tracked since 1976
Census
Kalah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 758 people with the first name Kalah, which placed it at #15,241 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
#15,241
National first-name rank
People counted
758
758 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalah is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Kalah 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 Kalah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.8% · 408
- Black or African American34.4% · 261
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 40
- Two or more races5.0% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Popularity
Kalah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalah from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 389 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kalah 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 Kalah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Illinois, Georgia recorded the most babies named Kalah, while New York, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalah
The name Kalah has its origins in Arabic, deriving from the word "kalah" meaning "speech" or "utterance". This name has been present in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa for centuries, with early records dating back to the 7th century CE.
One of the earliest known references to the name Kalah can be found in Islamic literature, particularly in the works of renowned scholars and poets from the Abbasid era (750-1258 CE). It was not uncommon for individuals to be named after virtuous qualities or concepts, and Kalah's association with speech and eloquence made it a fitting choice.
In the 9th century CE, a famous Arab poet and scholar named Kalah ibn al-Nahdi gained recognition for his contributions to Arabic literature. Born in present-day Iraq in 786 CE, he was celebrated for his mastery of language and his eloquent poetry.
Another notable figure bearing the name Kalah was Kalah al-Qadi, a renowned jurist and legal scholar from the 11th century CE. Hailing from present-day Morocco, he made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence and left a lasting legacy in the region.
During the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517 CE), which ruled over parts of Egypt and the Levant, a prominent military commander named Kalah al-Din Qalawun rose to power. Born in 1225 CE, he eventually became the Sultan of Egypt and played a crucial role in defending the region against the Mongol invasions.
Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, Kalah Ali Khan was a distinguished Pakistani politician and diplomat who served as the country's Foreign Minister from 1965 to 1966. Born in 1897, he played a pivotal role in shaping Pakistan's foreign policy during a critical period in its history.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Kalah, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Kalah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalah 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
Kalah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 750 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalah 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 457,006 US residents.
Is Kalah a common name?
We classify Kalah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 778 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalah most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalah was 1991, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalah is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 758 people with the name Kalah, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,241 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 Kalah 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 Kalah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalah leans strongly female. 742 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 14 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Kalah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalah is White at 53.8%. The next largest groups are Black (34.4%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Kalah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kalah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.8% (408 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 Kalah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalah 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 Kalah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalah 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 Kalah 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 have Kalah as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Kalah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.