girls' name ★ peaked 2019

Kali

Meaning en (English) Gender Girl · 3% boys Rank 2025 #323 Trend ↓ Falling 14%

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Rank 2025
#323
among girls · ↓28 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
972
named Kali · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,695
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2019
1,353 babies
All-time total
33,438
#798 all-time among girls
First recorded
1957
in Social Security records

Kali popularity over time

33,438 babies have been named Kali since 1957, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 21 – 21 2 – #4,809
1960s 87 – 87 9 +314% #3,524
1970s 526 132 658 66 +656% #1,505
1980s 2,752 71 2,823 282 +329% #499
1990s 6,848 112 6,960 696 +147% #332
2000s 5,759 145 5,904 590 -15% #427
2010s 9,909 258 10,167 1,017 +72% #242
2020s (to 2025) 6,625 193 6,818 1,136 +12% #250

Where Kali is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 926 0.58 #333
2027 908 0.56 #338
2028 893 0.56 #342
2029 880 0.55 #347
2030 869 0.54 #351

Where Kali is most popular

Girls named Kali per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.671 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Delaware.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Kali born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 133 2.84 +324%
Louisiana 209 2.39 +256%
Delaware 26 2.29 +242%
South Carolina 179 1.99 +197%
Georgia 374 1.65 +145%
Alabama 147 1.57 +133%
Maryland 153 1.44 +115%
North Carolina 299 1.31 +96%
District of Columbia 15 1.27 +89%
Nevada 55 1.18 +76%
Arkansas 62 1.17 +75%
Michigan 200 1.10 +64%
Ohio 239 1.01 +50%
Virginia 160 0.939 +40%
Florida 394 0.921 +37%
Missouri 109 0.904 +35%
Tennessee 141 0.890 +33%
Pennsylvania 209 0.884 +32%
Connecticut 50 0.859 +28%
Illinois 191 0.834 +24%
New Jersey 147 0.814 +21%
Indiana 110 0.784 +17%
Wisconsin 77 0.748 +11%
New York 287 0.725 +8%
Texas 510 0.634 -6%
Oklahoma 46 0.625 -7%
West Virginia 16 0.611 -9%
Rhode Island 7 0.559 -17%
Kentucky 46 0.538 -20%
Massachusetts 62 0.513 -24%
Kansas 28 0.485 -28%
California 374 0.445 -34%
Arizona 60 0.428 -36%
Washington 54 0.374 -44%
Colorado 37 0.331 -51%
Nebraska 10 0.278 -59%
Minnesota 30 0.278 -59%
Oregon 17 0.261 -61%
New Mexico 6 0.247 -63%
Iowa 12 0.205 -69%
Utah 11 0.132 -80%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Kali

Kali is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #323 in 2025 with 948 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1957, 33,438 American babies have been named Kali. Its peak came in 2019, when 1,353 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Kali stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Kali?

The median living Kali is about 15 years old; half are between 7 and 28. An estimated 33 thousand people named Kali are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Kali year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 948 #323 24 #4,318
2024 1,073 #295 25 #4,261
2023 1,072 #291 29 #3,843
2022 1,228 #250 29 #3,822
2021 1,123 #284 43 #2,888
2020 1,181 #253 43 #2,820
2019 1,312 #242 41 #2,965
2018 1,208 #274 32 #3,478
2017 1,089 #302 37 #3,159
2016 1,086 #300 34 #3,331
2015 1,187 #267 30 #3,637
2014 1,260 #261 24 #4,192
2013 872 #363 21 #4,537
2012 748 #420 17 #5,375
2011 602 #493 7 #10,197
2010 545 #537 15 #5,890
2009 602 #501 14 #6,268
2008 618 #504 12 #6,969
2007 668 #486 14 #6,096
2006 549 #541 11 #7,180
2005 554 #526 8 #8,704
2004 527 #543 18 #4,691
2003 494 #564 18 #4,522
2002 495 #552 13 #5,564
2001 592 #469 19 #4,212
2000 660 #427 18 #4,296
1995 756 #348 7 #7,383
1990 558 #444 6 #7,631
1985 329 #591 9 #4,514
1980 91 #1,376 12 #3,509
1975 62 #1,594 12 #3,151
1970 30 #2,472 6 #4,494
1965 6 #6,122 – –
1960 7 #5,413 – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Kali

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Kali Uchis Kali Uchis American singer-songwriter (born 1994) Contemporary
  2. 2 Kali Rocha Kali Rocha American actress (born 1971) Contemporary
  3. 3 Kali Angolan footballer b. 1978 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Kali, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Kali?

The median living Kali is about 15 years old. Half of all living Kalis are between 7 and 28 years old.

How many people named Kali are alive today?

An estimated 33 thousand people named Kali are alive in the United States, based on 33,438 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Kali mean?

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How popular is the name Kali in 2025?

Kali ranked #323 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 948 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Kali?

33,438 babies have been named Kali in the United States since 1957, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Kali most popular?

Kali peaked in 2019, when 1,353 newborns received the name.

Is Kali a boy or girl name?

Kali is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Kali rising or falling?

Kali has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Kali become more popular?

Kali is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 869 girls named Kali in 2030, which would rank around #351. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Kali?

Well-known people named Kali include Kali Uchis (musician), Kali Rocha (actor), Kali (soccer player).

Names like Kali

Names that sound and feel close to Kali: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Kali with similar names → More names starting with K →