Caliph
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- ka-LEEF
- Origin
- Arabic
- US rank, 2025
- #12,003 for boys
Caliph is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “successor, deputy”. In 2025 it ranked 12,003rd for boys in the US (5 babies).
What does Caliph mean?
Arabic: spelling of Khalif; from Arabic khalifa
“successor, deputy”
From the same root as caliph, the title of the successors of the Prophet Muhammad as leaders of the Muslim community.
Meaning borrowed from Khalif.
Is Caliph a girl's or a boy's name?
Caliph is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Caliph in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 12,003rd among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 5 about 1 in 340,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 5 boys in the US were named Caliph, making it the 12,003rd most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 1974, with 13 boys. It first appears in the records in 1972.
2025 had more boys named Caliph than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Caliph in the US since 1880 were born between 1979 and 2005, the years shaded on the chart below.
Caliph in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #12,003 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 6 | #10,797 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 5 | #12,180 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 6 | #10,763 |
| 2011 | 8 | #8,760 |
| 2010 | 6 | #10,759 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 8 | #9,013 |
| 2007 | 7 | #9,782 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 6 | #10,144 |
| 2004 | 5 | #11,348 |
| 2003 | 10 | #6,708 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,036 |
| 1998 | 7 | #7,553 |
| 1997 | 7 | #7,275 |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 9 | #5,922 |
| 1994 | 6 | #7,764 |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 8 | #6,120 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 6 | #5,557 |
| 1983 | 8 | #4,497 |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 6 | #5,523 |
| 1979 | 8 | #4,401 |
| 1978 | 5 | #5,769 |
| 1977 | 5 | #5,843 |
| 1976 | 10 | #3,469 |
| 1975 | 8 | #3,939 |
| 1974 | 13 | #2,797 |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 5 | #4,983 |
Names like Caliph
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Caleb, Noah, Omar, Christian, Jonah, Cyrus, Colton, Connor, Cooper, Jacob, Ali, Colter
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amir, Amira, Fatima, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
Sources
Figures from 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, “Caliph: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/caliph, updated 20 October 2026.