Kelila
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "friend" or "companion".
Name Census estimates that about 37 living Americans carry the first name Kelila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kelila today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelila births was 1981 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelila. 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 Kelila. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
37
~ 1 in 9,263,631 Americans
Peak year
1981
7 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2022 SSA rank
#16,514
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Kelila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelila from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Kelila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kelila 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 Kelila 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 Kelila
The name Kelila is of Hebrew origin and can be traced back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "kelil," which means "crown" or "wreath." The name is believed to have been first used as a nickname or term of endearment, referring to someone who was considered a precious jewel or a crowning achievement.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kelila dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in the medieval Jewish text "Kuzari," written by the Spanish-Jewish philosopher and poet Judah Halevi. In this work, Kelila is mentioned as the name of a wise and learned woman who engaged in philosophical discussions with the king of the Khazars.
In the 16th century, a prominent Jewish scholar and kabbalist named Kelila ben Moses ben Shem Tov lived in Safed, Palestine. He was known for his expertise in the study of the Zohar, a foundational text of Jewish mysticism.
During the 17th century, Kelila Maraviglia was an Italian writer and poet from Venice. She was part of a literary circle and gained recognition for her poetic works, which were published in several collections.
In the 19th century, Kelila Aben Guzmán was a Spanish writer and journalist who contributed to various publications and advocated for women's rights and education.
Another notable figure with the name Kelila was Kelila Merker, a German-American painter and art educator who lived from 1905 to 1998. She was known for her vibrant abstract expressionist works and taught at various art institutions throughout her career.
While the name Kelila has its roots in Hebrew and Jewish culture, it has also been adopted by various cultures and communities around the world, each with their own interpretations and associations with the name.
People
Kelila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelila 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
Kelila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 37 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelila 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 9,263,631 US residents.
Is Kelila a common name?
We classify Kelila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 38 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelila most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelila was 1981, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelila is about 24 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 Kelila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kelila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kelila 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 Kelila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kelila 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 Kelila 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 share the name Kelila?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.