Kaleigha
A feminine name of modern invention derived from the Irish surname Kealy.
Name Census estimates that about 973 living Americans carry the first name Kaleigha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaleigha today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaleigha births was 2010 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaleigha. 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
973
~ 1 in 352,266 Americans
Peak year
2010
67 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,698
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Kaleigha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaleigha from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 532 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Kaleigha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaleigha 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 Kaleigha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kaleighas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Florida, Ohio, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Kaleigha, while Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kaleigha
The name Kaleigha is a modern spelling variation of the traditional name Kaleigh, which itself is derived from the Scottish Gaelic name Cailliche. This Celtic name has its roots in the Old Irish word "caillech," meaning "veiled one" or "nun." The veil was a symbol of piety and wisdom in ancient Celtic culture.
The earliest known use of the name Cailliche dates back to the 5th century AD, when it was recorded in ancient Irish folklore and mythological texts. During this period, the name was primarily associated with female figures of wisdom, such as druidesses, herbalists, and spiritual leaders within Celtic communities.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with a variation of this name was Cailliche Bhearra, a legendary Irish druidess and herbalist from the 5th century AD. She was revered for her extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and her healing abilities.
In the 9th century AD, a notable figure named Cailliche Dheirg, also known as the "Red Nun," was mentioned in Irish chronicles as a wise woman and advisor to kings. Her influence extended throughout the region of Connacht in western Ireland.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cailliche evolved into various spellings, such as Kaleigh, Kayleigh, and Kaleigh, as it spread throughout Scotland and parts of England. One notable bearer of this name was Kaleigh of Strathearn, a 13th-century Scottish noblewoman and landowner in the region of Strathearn.
In the 16th century, a variant spelling, Caleigh, was recorded in England. Caleigh Mawditt, born in 1568 in Wiltshire, was a renowned herbalist and author of one of the earliest English-language works on herbal medicine.
The modern spelling of Kaleigha emerged in recent centuries, possibly as a creative spelling variation inspired by the traditional forms of the name. While the name has become more popular in recent times, its ancient Celtic roots and associations with wisdom, healing, and spirituality continue to resonate.
People
Kaleigha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaleigha 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
Kaleigha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaleigha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 973 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaleigha 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 352,266 US residents.
Is Kaleigha a common name?
We classify Kaleigha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 982 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaleigha most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaleigha was 2010, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaleigha is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kaleigha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaleigha 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.