Kalieb
A masculine name with possible Latin origin, meaning "sustaining life, vigorous".
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Kalieb. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Kalieb today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kalieb births was 2003 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kalieb. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2003
15 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,054
Tracked since 1988
Census
Kalieb in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 181 people with the first name Kalieb, which placed it at #40,888 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
#40,888
National first-name rank
People counted
181
181 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalieb
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalieb is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (38.1%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Kalieb 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 Kalieb at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.0% · 85
- White38.1% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 12
- Two or more races5.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Kalieb: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kalieb from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 95 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Kalieb remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kalieb 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 Kalieb 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 Kalieb
The name Kalieb has its origins in the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "kalib," which means "heart" or "soul." This suggests that the name may have been associated with qualities such as kindness, compassion, and depth of character.
Historically, the name Kalieb can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was commonly used in various regions of the Arab world, including the Arabian Peninsula and parts of North Africa. Its popularity likely stemmed from the cultural and religious significance attributed to the concept of the "heart" or "soul" in Islamic teachings.
While there are no known direct references to the name Kalieb in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was inspired by the emphasis placed on qualities of the heart and soul in various philosophical and spiritual traditions of the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kalieb was a 12th-century poet and scholar from Andalusia, in present-day Spain. This Kalieb ibn al-Qutiyya was renowned for his contributions to Arabic literature and his skills in calligraphy.
In the 14th century, there was a notable Islamic scholar and jurist named Kalieb al-Misri, who hailed from Egypt. He was revered for his expertise in Islamic law and his extensive writings on various legal and theological topics.
During the Ottoman Empire, a prominent military leader named Kalieb Pasha lived in the 16th century. He served as a governor of several provinces and gained recognition for his strategic leadership and bravery in battles against rival forces.
In the realm of arts and culture, a celebrated 17th-century calligrapher and painter from Persia (modern-day Iran) bore the name Kalieb Isfahani. His intricate calligraphic works and vibrant paintings were highly sought after and adorned the walls of royal palaces and mosques.
Another noteworthy figure was Kalieb al-Jaza'iri, an 18th-century Algerian scholar and author renowned for his contributions to the study of Arabic grammar and literature. His works were widely circulated and studied throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
These examples illustrate the historical significance and varied accomplishments of individuals who carried the name Kalieb across different regions and time periods, suggesting a rich and enduring legacy associated with this name.
People
Kalieb + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kalieb 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
Kalieb: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kalieb?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kalieb 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Kalieb a common name?
We classify Kalieb as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kalieb most popular?
The single biggest year for Kalieb was 2003, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kalieb is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kalieb in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 181 people with the name Kalieb, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,888 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 Kalieb 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 Kalieb?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kalieb leans strongly male. 175 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 4 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Kalieb?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kalieb is Black at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (38.1%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Kalieb most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kalieb in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (85 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 Kalieb in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kalieb a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kalieb in the SSA data are male. 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 Kalieb still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kalieb 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 Kalieb 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 share the name Kalieb?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.