Keliel
A masculine name of Hebrew origin signifying "belonging to God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Keliel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Keliel today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Keliel births was 2021 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Keliel. 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 Keliel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2021
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,147
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Keliel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Keliel 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 Keliel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Keliel
The name Keliel is a Hebrew name with roots in ancient Jewish and Semitic traditions. It is derived from the Hebrew words "kel," meaning "God," and "el," which is a common suffix used in many Hebrew names and means "of God" or "devoted to God."
The earliest known recorded use of the name Keliel dates back to the 5th century BCE, where it appears in the Book of Ezra, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. In this text, Keliel is mentioned as the name of one of the Levites who assisted Ezra in teaching the Law of Moses to the people of Israel after their return from Babylonian exile.
Throughout the centuries, the name Keliel has been borne by several notable figures in Jewish history and culture. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Keliel ben Shafat, a prominent rabbi who lived in the 2nd century CE and was a student of the great sage Rabbi Akiva.
In the 11th century, Keliel ben Judah was a renowned Jewish philosopher and commentator on the Talmud, whose works were widely studied and influential in his time. His writings extensively explored the relationship between faith and reason, and his teachings had a significant impact on the development of Jewish thought during the Middle Ages.
Another notable figure with the name Keliel was Keliel Toledano, a Spanish-born Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 15th century. He was known for his expertise in various fields, including mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, and his works were highly regarded among Jewish and non-Jewish scholars alike.
In more recent times, Keliel Vieira dos Santos was a Brazilian writer and journalist who lived from 1917 to 1987. He was an influential figure in the literary circles of his time and was known for his poetic works and contributions to Brazilian literature.
Keliel Roriz was a Brazilian politician and lawyer who served as the governor of the Federal District of Brazil from 1988 to 1994. He was a prominent figure in Brazilian politics and played a significant role in the development of the capital city, Brasília.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Keliel throughout history, reflecting its rich cultural and historical significance within the Jewish and Semitic traditions.
People
Keliel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Keliel 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
Keliel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Keliel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Keliel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Keliel a common name?
We classify Keliel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Keliel most popular?
The single biggest year for Keliel was 2021, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Keliel is about 5 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 Keliel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Keliel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Keliel 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 Keliel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Keliel 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 Keliel 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 people have the name Keliel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.