Kalise
Feminine
The ending of Kalise is French and the beginning is American. Elise, Denise, Anneliese and Louise all end in that -ise, a French spelling for a sound English writes as -ees; Ka- is the single most productive first syllable in American naming. The join is where the name begins.
How old is the name Kalise?
Kalise first appears in US birth records in 1988 — 37 years ago. The typical Kalise is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 900 people named Kalise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kalise most popular?
Kalise peaked in 2017, reaching #3247 nationally. Today it ranks #6325, 3,078 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Kalise
There is a small set of endings that English borrowed from French and now uses as tokens of elegance without any of the grammar that produced them: -ise, -elle, -ette, -aine. Attach one to any syllable and the result reads as a name, which is why the American naming stock of the last forty years contains so many words that look French and are not. Kalise is built this way, and the specific ending it takes, the -ise of Elise and Denise, is the one that keeps the stress at the end of the word, so the name lands on its final syllable in a way that Kayla and Callie do not. Its best year in United States records is 2017, which makes it one of the most recent names of its type. A near-identical sound arrived on American screens in 2011 as Khaleesi, a title from a fantasy series; whether a reader hears one or the other depends entirely on their television habits.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Kalise has no inherited etymology. The -ise ending is borrowed from the French feminine names in that family, where it is a genuine suffix; Ka- is a free syllable with no meaning attached. Readings offered from Greek kalos, beautiful, or from Hawaiian vocabulary are retrofits to the spelling and are not the source of the name.
Pronouncing Kalise
kuh-LEESE
Two syllables with the stress at the end and a soft s. Some families say kuh-LEEZ with a z, and a minority use three syllables, kah-LEE-say.
Nicknames for Kalise
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
- 1988
- Most girls named
- 201749 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3247reached in 2017
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%18 in 2025, from 18
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.
Kalise in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, North Carolina, Florida.
Kalises among us
people named Kalise are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 89,293 born in 2025 was named Kalise
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kalise
- #6325
- Kalise on the 2025 chart
- #911
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kalise went to 18 girls in 2025, but Calise, Khalise and Kalyse are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 49, which makes it the 911th most-given girls’ name of the year — 5,414 places above the chart.
- Kalise18
- Calise16
- Khalise9
- Kalyse6
About 1 girl in 32,801 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 89,293 for Kalise 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 Ryane test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kalise's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ryane climbed just as high around 1985, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ryane's path sketches the road Kalise is walking now.
Kalise 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
Kalise beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kalise in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- End-stressed, which is uncommon in American girls' names and makes it stand out.
- Lise and Kali are both usable short forms with independent histories.
- Short, clean and easy to spell once heard.
- The s or z question at the end has no settled answer and will be asked.
- It sounds very close to Khaleesi, a fantasy title that many people will hear first.
- Kaliese, Kalease and Calise all appear and will be substituted.
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What they receive
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Kalise
Feminine · #6325 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kalises are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Kalise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kalise?
- Kalise is the most-used spelling in US records — 18 of the 49 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Calise, Khalise and Kalyse.
- How popular is the name Kalise in 2025?
- Kalise ranks #6325 among US girl names in 2025, with 18 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kalise?
- About 1 in every 89,293 US girls born in 2025 was named Kalise — 18 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kalise with classmates?
- Kalise will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kalise
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kaye#6325 · Doria#6325 · Karolyn#6325 · Rosaleen#6325 · Roni#6325 · Darian#6325 · Svetlana#6325 · Fanny#6325
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kalise? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kalise and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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