Kaleta
A Slavic feminine diminutive name meaning "little partridge" or "partridge flower".
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Kaleta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kaleta today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kaleta births was 1950 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kaleta. 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 Kaleta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1950
6 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1981 SSA rank
#9,635
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Kaleta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kaleta from the 1950s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kaleta 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 Kaleta 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 Kaleta
The name Kaleta has its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly Polish and Czech. It is believed to have emerged as a diminutive form of the name Kalislaw or Kalislav, which means "beautiful glory" or "glorious beauty."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kaleta can be traced back to the 12th century in Poland and the Czech Republic. During this period, it was primarily used as a masculine name, though it later gained popularity as a feminine name as well.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Kaleta was Kaleta of Gniezno, a Polish nobleman and knight who lived in the 13th century. He was renowned for his bravery and loyalty to the Polish king, Władysław I the Elbow-high.
In the 15th century, Kaleta Żeleński, a Polish poet and writer, gained recognition for his work "The Book of Kaleta," which chronicled the life and struggles of the common people during that era.
Another notable figure was Kaleta Przybysławska, a 16th-century Polish noblewoman known for her involvement in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's political affairs.
In the 17th century, Kaleta Chodkiewicz, a Polish military commander, played a significant role in the Polish-Swedish War, leading several successful campaigns against the Swedish forces.
Leaping forward in time, Kaleta Pazdírek, a Czech composer and music teacher born in 1811, made notable contributions to the development of Czech classical music.
While the name Kaleta has its roots in the Slavic languages, it has also found use in other cultures and regions over time, though its prevalence and meaning may have evolved differently in those contexts.
People
Kaleta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kaleta 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
Kaleta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kaleta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kaleta 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Kaleta a common name?
We classify Kaleta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kaleta most popular?
The single biggest year for Kaleta was 1950, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kaleta is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Kaleta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kaleta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kaleta 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 Kaleta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kaleta 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 Kaleta 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Kaleta?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.