Khaleesi
A title from the Dothraki language meaning "queen" or "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 5,092 living Americans carry the first name Khaleesi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Khaleesi today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khaleesi births was 2018 (564 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khaleesi. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Khaleesi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Khaleesi is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 7 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.1K
~ 1 in 67,312 Americans
Peak year
2018
564 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2024 SSA rank
#665
Tracked since 2011
Popularity
Khaleesi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khaleesi from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,064 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Khaleesi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Khaleesi 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 Khaleesi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Khaleesis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Khaleesi, while Maine, Kansas, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 115 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Khaleesi
The name Khaleesi is a fictional title that originated in the fantasy novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin, which was later adapted into the popular TV series "Game of Thrones." It does not have any real-world linguistic or cultural origins.
In the fictional world of Westeros created by Martin, "Khaleesi" is a title used to address the wife of a Khal, which is the leader or ruler of a Dothraki khalasar (a nomadic clan or group). The term is derived from the Dothraki language, an artificial language created by Martin and the show's language creators for the nomadic horse-riding culture in the series.
The name Khaleesi does not appear in any ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records, as it is a completely fictional construct. It gained widespread popularity and recognition due to the massive success of the "Game of Thrones" series, particularly through the character of Daenerys Targaryen, who was often referred to as "Khaleesi" by her Dothraki followers.
Since the name is a fictional creation, there are no recorded examples of real people throughout history bearing the name Khaleesi. The character of Daenerys Targaryen, portrayed by Emilia Clarke in the TV series, is perhaps the most famous and iconic bearer of the title Khaleesi.
It is important to note that Khaleesi is not a given name, but rather a title or honorific used within the fictional world of "Game of Thrones." As such, it does not have a long historical background or evolution like many traditional names do.
People
Khaleesi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khaleesi 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
Khaleesi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khaleesi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,092 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khaleesi 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 67,312 US residents.
Is Khaleesi a common name?
We classify Khaleesi as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,125 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khaleesi most popular?
The single biggest year for Khaleesi was 2018, when 564 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khaleesi is about 7 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 Khaleesi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khaleesi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Khaleesi 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 Khaleesi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khaleesi 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 Khaleesi 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 Khaleesi?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.