Khelil
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "close friend".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Khelil. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Khelil today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Khelil births was 2019 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Khelil. 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 Khelil. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2019
5 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,191
Tracked since 2019
Popularity
Khelil: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Khelil 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 Khelil during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Khelil
The name Khelil originates from the Arabic language and culture. It is derived from the Arabic word "khalil," which means "friend" or "beloved." The name has its roots in the Middle Eastern region, particularly in countries with significant Arabic-speaking populations.
The earliest recorded use of the name Khelil can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic golden age. It was a popular name among Arab scholars, poets, and intellectuals of that era. The name is mentioned in several historical texts and literary works from that period.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Khelil was Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, a renowned Arab philologist and grammarian who lived in the 8th century CE. He is widely regarded as the father of Arabic lexicography and made significant contributions to the study of the Arabic language.
Another prominent individual was Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi, a famous Muslim mathematician and astronomer from the 9th century CE. He made important contributions to the field of trigonometry and wrote several influential treatises on mathematics and astronomy.
In the realm of literature, Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and artist, stands out as a prominent figure with the name Khelil. Born in 1883 and died in 1931, he is best known for his poetic works, including "The Prophet" and "The Madman."
The name Khelil also has religious significance in Islam. One of the names attributed to Prophet Abraham in the Qur'an is "Khalil," meaning "friend of God." This association further strengthened the popularity of the name among Muslims.
Other notable figures with the name Khelil include Khalil al-Zahiri, an influential Islamic scholar and jurist from the 12th century CE, and Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese painter and poet from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who was the cousin of the famous writer Khalil Gibran mentioned earlier.
People
Khelil + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Khelil 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
Khelil: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Khelil?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Khelil 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 Khelil a common name?
We classify Khelil 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 Khelil most popular?
The single biggest year for Khelil was 2019, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Khelil 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 Khelil in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Khelil a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Khelil 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 Khelil still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Khelil 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 Khelil 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 Khelil?
Find out how many people have the name Khelil on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.