Kaylei
Feminine
Kaylei ends in ei, which is one of the least reliable letter pairs in English. It says AY in vein and weigh, EE in seize and receive, and I in height and either — three completely different values with no rule to choose between them. Using it at the end of a name is a genuine gamble.
How old is the name Kaylei?
Kaylei first appears in US birth records in 1986 — 39 years ago. The typical Kaylei alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 2,100 people named Kaylei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Kaylei most popular?
Kaylei peaked in 2006, reaching #1672 nationally. Today it ranks #7133, 5,461 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Kaylee to Kaylei
Our story of Kaylei
English got ei from two directions and never reconciled them. Norman French brought it in words like receive and deceit, where it says EE; Germanic and Old English sources gave veil, weigh and eight, where it says AY. The result is a digraph that carries no information, which is exactly why it became attractive to American naming — a spelling that cannot be predicted is a spelling that is yours. Kaylei, Kayleigh, Kaylee, Kailey, Cailey and Keylee are all one sound, and the differences between them are entirely about how much work the reader is asked to do. Kaylei asks for a fair amount: a first-time reader will very reasonably try KAY-lay or KAY-lie before arriving at KAY-lee. It peaked in 2006, in the middle of the cluster's long run.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Kaylee cluster has no agreed parent name: Kayla, Kelly, Hayley and the Irish céilí have all been proposed and none is established. Kaylei is one spelling within it and inherits that uncertainty. The ei ending carries no meaning; it is a graphic choice among several that produce the same sound.
How the name formed
- Kaylee
- Kaylei
Pronouncing Kaylei
KAY-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The intended value of ei here is EE, but the digraph supports AY and long I equally well in English, so first-time readers guess wrong regularly.
Nicknames for Kaylei
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
- 1986
- Most girls named
- 2007128 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1672reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- −34.8%15 in 2025, from 23
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.
Kaylei in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Louisiana, Georgia.
Kayleis among us
people named Kaylei are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 107,151 born in 2025 was named Kaylei
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Kaylei
- #7133
- Kaylei on the 2025 chart
- #726
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Kaylei went to 15 girls in 2025, but Kailey, Kayley and Cailey and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 5 spellings went to 236, which makes it the 726th most-given girls’ name of the year — 6,407 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 6,810 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 107,151 for Kaylei 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 Thersa test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kaylei's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Thersa climbed just as high around 1965, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Thersa's path sketches the road Kaylei is walking now.
Kaylei 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
Kaylei beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Kaylei in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The sound is one of the most familiar in modern American naming.
- Kay is an established short form with its own history.
- The ei spelling is distinctive within a very crowded family.
- The ei ending has three possible English values and no rule to pick one.
- More than a dozen spellings of this sound are in use.
- It has no meaning at any remove.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Kaylei
Feminine · #7133 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Kayleis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Kaylei are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Kaylei?
- Kaylei is one of 5 recorded spellings. Kailey is the more common one — 153 births in 2025 against 15 for Kaylei.
- How popular is the name Kaylei in 2025?
- Kaylei ranks #7133 among US girl names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Kaylei?
- About 1 in every 107,151 US girls born in 2025 was named Kaylei — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Kaylei with classmates?
- Kaylei will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Kaylei
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Pennie#7133 · Zina#7133 · Elzie#7133 · Rosabel#7133 · Adelene#7133 · Cruz#7133 · Kansas#7133 · Ione#7133
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kaylei? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Kaylei and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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