Caleb
Masculine · “dog”
Caleb is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 324,350 boys against 653 girls since 1880. See Caleb as a girl name
Caleb is one of the very few biblical men's names that never developed a standard short form, so American families say the whole of it. The man it belongs to is remembered for disagreeing with ten colleagues in public and being right.
How old is the name Caleb?
Caleb was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Caleb alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 317,000 people named Caleb are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Caleb most popular?
Caleb peaked in 2009, reaching #31 nationally. Today it ranks #58, 27 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Where it comes from
From Kalev to Caleb
The story of Caleb
Twelve scouts are sent into Canaan to report on it. Ten come back saying the land is good and the people in it are giants, and the nation panics; Caleb and Joshua say the same land can be taken and are nearly stoned for it. The sentence that follows is that the whole generation which believed the majority will die in the wilderness over forty years, and that the two who dissented will be the only men of their age to cross. Caleb turns up again decades later asking for the hill country he had scouted, on the grounds that he is as fit as he was then, and he gets it. The story is unusual in the Hebrew Bible for being about a committee, and for treating the minority report as the faithful one.
Meaningscholars disagree
dog
The plain Hebrew reading is dog, which was not the insult in that culture that it is in ours — a dog is loyal and follows. An alternative reading takes it from words for whole and heart, which the text itself hints at when it repeatedly says he followed wholeheartedly. Neither has won.
Cultural footprint
Caleb McLaughlin (b. 2001) — Stranger Things' Lucas
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Kalev
- Caleb
Related forms: כָּלֵב · Caleb
Pronouncing Caleb
KAY-lub
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Hebrew says kah-LEV, with the weight at the back and a v at the end, which is a noticeably different word.
Nicknames for Caleb
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 200411,307 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #31reached in 2009
- Change vs 2022
- −9.7%5,217 in 2025, from 5,778
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Caleb in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- כָּלֵב in Hebrew — same name
- Caleb in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida. International figures from Statistics Canada, National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics. Sources
Calebs among us
people named Caleb are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 327 born in 2025 was named Caleb
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Caleb
- #58
- Caleb on the 2025 chart
- #43
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Caleb went to 5,217 boys in 2025, but Kaleb is the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 6,386, which makes it the 43rd most-given boys’ name of the year — 15 places above the chart.
- Caleb5,217
- Kaleb1,143
and 1 rarer spelling.
About 1 boy in 267 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 327 for Caleb itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Patrick test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Caleb's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Patrick climbed just as high around 1964, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Patrick's path sketches the road Caleb is walking now.
Caleb sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Caleb is headed
Caleb should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Caleb beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Caleb in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is instantly recognizable without being difficult for anybody.
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape English has.
- The spelling is stable, which is rare in a name this common.
- The plain reading of the name is dog, which some families mind.
- Kaleb and Calev are both recorded and will be written for it.
- It has no short form, so there is no retreat from the full name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Caleb to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Caleb? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Caleb
Masculine · #58 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Calebs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 317,000 people named Caleb are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Caleb?
- Caleb is the most-used spelling in US records — 5,217 of the 6,386 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Kaleb.
- How popular is the name Caleb in 2025?
- Caleb ranks #58 among US boy names in 2025, with 5,217 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Caleb?
- About 1 in every 327 US boys born in 2025 was named Caleb — 5,217 in all.
- Will my child share the name Caleb with classmates?
- Caleb will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Caleb
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rowan#59 · Isaiah#57 · Waylon#56 · Beau#60 · Weston#55 · Ezekiel#61 · Aiden#62 · Josiah#54
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Caleb? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Caleb and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle