Khalis
A masculine Arabic name meaning "pure" or "sincere".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Khalis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 73.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Khalis today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khalis births was 2017 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khalis. 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 Khalis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
2017
17 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,734
Tracked since 1981
Census
Khalis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 199 people with the first name Khalis, which placed it at #38,518 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
#38,518
National first-name rank
People counted
199
199 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Khalis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khalis is Black at 75.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Khalis 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 Khalis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.4% · 150
- White14.1% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 10
- Two or more races4.0% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Khalis
Khalis is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 142 total registrations, 37 (26.1%) were male and 105 (73.9%) were female.
Khalis as a male name
- Ranked #13,269 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2017 (11 births)
Khalis as a female name
- Ranked #11,734 in 2022
- 8 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2020 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Khalis on both sides of the split. Of the 198 people counted with this name, 108 were male (54.5%) and 90 were female (45.5%).
Popularity
Khalis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Khalis from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Khalis 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 Khalis 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 Khalis
The name Khalis originates from the Arabic language and has its roots in the Islamic culture. The name itself is derived from the Arabic word "khalis," which means "pure," "sincere," or "unmixed." It is believed to have been in use as a personal name since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century CE.
The name Khalis is mentioned in several religious texts and historical records from the Middle East and North Africa. One notable example is the mention of a companion of the Prophet Muhammad named Khalis ibn Amr al-Ghifari, who lived in the 7th century CE. He was known for his bravery and devotion to the Islamic faith.
Throughout history, the name Khalis has been borne by several notable figures, including:
1. Khalis ibn Yazid (died 786 CE), an Arab general and governor during the Abbasid Caliphate.
2. Khalis Al-Naqshbandi (1637-1718), a renowned Sufi scholar and spiritual leader from modern-day Iraq.
3. Khalis Qadrdan (1868-1953), an influential Kurdish poet and writer from Iran.
4. Khalis Bayraktaroğlu (1875-1965), a Turkish military officer and politician who served as the Minister of Defense.
5. Khalis Al-Maliki (born 1964), an Iraqi politician and former Vice President of Iraq.
While the name Khalis has its origins in the Arabic language and Islamic culture, it has also gained popularity in various regions and cultures where Arabic influence has been prevalent, such as parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
The name Khalis continues to be used in the modern era, though its popularity and cultural significance may vary across different regions and communities. Its meaning of "purity" and "sincerity" has resonated with many, making it a name that carries deep cultural and religious connotations.
People
Khalis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khalis 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
Khalis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khalis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khalis 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Khalis a common name?
We classify Khalis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Khalis most popular?
The single biggest year for Khalis was 2017, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khalis is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Khalis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 199 people with the name Khalis, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,518 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 Khalis 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 Khalis?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Khalis on both sides of the split. Of the 198 people counted with this name, 108 were male (54.5%) and 90 were female (45.5%). 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 Khalis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Khalis is Black at 75.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.1%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Khalis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Khalis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (150 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 Khalis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khalis a female name?
Yes, 73.9% of people registered as Khalis 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 Khalis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khalis 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 Khalis 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 have the name Khalis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.