Cale
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAYL
- Origin
- Hebrew
- US rank, 2025
- #2,718 for boys
Cale is a boys' name of Hebrew origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,718th for boys in the US (47 babies).
What does Cale mean?
Hebrew: short form of Caleb
A short form of Caleb, the biblical spy who, with Joshua, trusted God's promise to bring Israel into Canaan.
Is Cale a girl's or a boy's name?
Cale is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 47 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Cale in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2003, with 17 boys.
Half of all the boys named Cale in the UK since 1996 were born between 2000 and 2009. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Cale in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | #6,258 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 1 | #6,312 |
| 2016 | 5 | #3,655 |
| 2015 | 7 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 5 | #3,529 |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 7 | #2,736 |
| 2010 | 10 | #2,141 |
| 2009 | 12 | #1,852 |
| 2008 | 14 | #1,599 |
| 2007 | 7 | #2,554 |
| 2006 | 6 | #2,645 |
| 2005 | 5 | #2,885 |
| 2004 | 10 | #1,688 |
| 2003 | 17 | #1,124 |
| 2002 | 11 | #1,384 |
| 2001 | 12 | #1,283 |
| 2000 | 11 | #1,308 |
| 1999 | 6 | #1,941 |
| 1998 | 12 | #1,180 |
| 1997 | 7 | #1,678 |
| 1996 | 10 | #1,290 |
How popular is Cale in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,718th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 47 about 1 in 36,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 9% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 47 boys in the US were named Cale, making it the 2,718th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,885th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 395 boys. It first appears in the records in 1917.
2025 had more boys named Cale than any year since 2017.
Half of all the boys named Cale in the US since 1880 were born between 1988 and 2009, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 422 boys in the US were given Cale or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #625, up from #2,718 for this spelling alone.
Cale in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | #2,718 |
| 2024 | 37 | #3,214 |
| 2023 | 31 | #3,627 |
| 2022 | 44 | #2,871 |
| 2021 | 33 | #3,424 |
| 2020 | 41 | #2,885 |
| 2019 | 43 | #2,850 |
| 2018 | 42 | #2,847 |
| 2017 | 58 | #2,269 |
| 2016 | 91 | #1,706 |
| 2015 | 140 | #1,279 |
| 2014 | 175 | #1,093 |
| 2013 | 180 | #1,054 |
| 2012 | 227 | #909 |
| 2011 | 259 | #833 |
| 2010 | 339 | #691 |
| 2009 | 366 | #669 |
| 2008 | 395 | #624 |
| 2007 | 323 | #714 |
| 2006 | 288 | #741 |
| 2005 | 262 | #758 |
| 2004 | 233 | #778 |
| 2003 | 237 | #753 |
| 2002 | 232 | #746 |
| 2001 | 194 | #836 |
| 2000 | 191 | #837 |
| 1999 | 166 | #901 |
| 1998 | 170 | #854 |
| 1997 | 132 | #979 |
| 1996 | 143 | #912 |
| 1995 | 119 | #1,013 |
| 1994 | 132 | #955 |
| 1993 | 138 | #914 |
| 1992 | 150 | #861 |
| 1991 | 148 | #858 |
| 1990 | 125 | #917 |
| 1989 | 120 | #923 |
| 1988 | 140 | #800 |
| 1987 | 162 | #717 |
| 1986 | 173 | #688 |
| 1985 | 186 | #642 |
| 1984 | 203 | #596 |
| 1983 | 128 | #763 |
| 1982 | 89 | #950 |
| 1981 | 89 | #954 |
| 1980 | 100 | #894 |
| 1979 | 94 | #901 |
| 1978 | 88 | #920 |
| 1977 | 102 | #847 |
| 1976 | 62 | #1,056 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,053 |
| 1974 | 58 | #1,082 |
| 1973 | 43 | #1,253 |
| 1972 | 45 | #1,230 |
| 1971 | 76 | #933 |
| 1970 | 75 | #921 |
| 1969 | 60 | #989 |
| 1968 | 31 | #1,393 |
| 1967 | 9 | #2,759 |
| 1966 | 13 | #2,215 |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 6 | #3,600 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 5 | #3,986 |
| 1958 | 5 | #3,942 |
| 1957 | 7 | #3,255 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 5 | #3,884 |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 5 | #3,731 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 6 | #3,369 |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 5 | #3,536 |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 5 | #3,761 |
| 1930 | 6 | #3,590 |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 5 | #4,305 |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 0 | – |
| 1917 | 8 | #2,955 |
Names like Cale
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Cole, Luke, Jake, Dylan, Ethan, Ryan, Jude, Connor, Cody, Blake, Nathan, Adam
Other spellings of Cale
Names related to Cale
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Samuel, Elias, Mateo, Elsie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Cale: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/cale, updated 20 October 2026.