Kalene
A feminine name with uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 677 living Americans carry the first name Kalene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kalene today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalene births was 1993 (204 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalene. 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
677
~ 1 in 506,284 Americans
Peak year
1993
204 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2020 SSA rank
#16,253
Tracked since 1954
Census
Kalene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 663 people with the first name Kalene, which placed it at #16,857 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
#16,857
National first-name rank
People counted
663
663 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalene is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.5%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Kalene 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 Kalene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.6% · 475
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 63
- Black or African American7.1% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 28
- Two or more races3.9% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 24
Popularity
Kalene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalene from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 424 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
Kalene 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 Kalene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kalenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Kalene, while Wisconsin, Utah, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kalene
The name Kalene is believed to have originated from the Greek language, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "kalos," which means "beautiful" or "fair." The earliest known use of the name can be traced back to ancient Greek literature and historical records, where it was often used to describe women of great beauty and grace.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Kalene can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived around 600 BC on the island of Lesbos. Sappho's poetry often celebrated the beauty of women, and it is possible that she used the name Kalene to refer to one of her contemporaries or muses.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are several references to characters with names that are similar to Kalene. For example, the name Kalliope, which means "beautiful voice," was the name of one of the nine Muses, the goddesses of the arts and sciences. While not an exact match, the similarity in sound and meaning suggests a connection to the idea of beauty and grace.
Over the centuries, the name Kalene has been used by various historical figures, though its popularity has ebbed and flowed. One notable example is Kalene of Novgorod, a Russian princess who lived in the 12th century and was known for her beauty and intelligence. Another is Kalene Jamieson, a Scottish novelist and poet who lived in the late 19th century and wrote extensively about the beauty of the Scottish highlands.
In more recent times, the name Kalene has been borne by several notable individuals. Kalene Silva, a Brazilian model and actress born in 1979, has graced the covers of numerous fashion magazines and appeared in several films and television shows. Kalene Griffith, an American singer-songwriter born in 1982, has released several albums and gained a following for her soulful vocals and introspective lyrics.
Another notable bearer of the name is Kalene Knutson, an American artist born in 1958, whose abstract paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries around the world. Her work often explores themes of beauty, nature, and the human form.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples demonstrate the rich history and varied cultural references associated with the name Kalene, which has been used to celebrate beauty, grace, and artistic expression for centuries.
People
Kalene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalene 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
Kalene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 677 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalene 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 506,284 US residents.
Is Kalene a common name?
We classify Kalene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 724 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalene most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalene was 1993, when 204 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalene is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 663 people with the name Kalene, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,857 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 Kalene 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 Kalene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalene appears almost entirely female. Of the 663 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Kalene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalene is White at 71.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.5%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Kalene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kalene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.6% (475 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 Kalene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalene 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 Kalene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalene 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 Kalene 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 the name Kalene?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.