Kalai
- Gender
- Mostly boys
- Say it
- KUH-lye
- Origin
- Tamil
- US rank, 2025
- #5,044 for boys
Kalai is a name of Tamil origin, meaning “art”. In 2025 it ranked 5,044th for boys in the US (19 babies).
What does Kalai mean?
Tamil: Tamil word, from Sanskrit kala
“art”
Also the first part of Tamil names such as Kalaiselvan and Kalaivani.
Is Kalai a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Kalai has been given to girls and boys, mostly boys. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls and 19 boys in the US.
How popular is Kalai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,044among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 19about 1 in 90,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 19 boys in the US were named Kalai, making it the 5,044th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 6,292nd. It first appears in the records in 1998. 5 girls were also named Kalai in 2025 (14,937th for girls).
2025 had the most boys named Kalai of any year since it first appeared, in 1998.
Half of all the boys named Kalai in the US since 1880 were born between 2004 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kalai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | #5,044 |
| 2024 | 9 | #8,307 |
| 2023 | 5 | #12,232 |
| 2022 | 10 | #7,762 |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 13 | #6,292 |
| 2019 | 9 | #8,209 |
| 2018 | 12 | #6,699 |
| 2017 | 9 | #8,136 |
| 2016 | 9 | #8,141 |
| 2015 | 7 | #9,562 |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,124 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 11 | #7,044 |
| 2011 | 12 | #6,572 |
| 2010 | 6 | #10,759 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8,980 |
| 2008 | 10 | #7,693 |
| 2007 | 10 | #7,586 |
| 2006 | 9 | #7,992 |
| 2005 | 6 | #10,144 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,132 |
| 2003 | 11 | #6,251 |
| 2002 | 10 | #6,515 |
| 2001 | 10 | #6,438 |
| 2000 | 14 | #5,034 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 6 | #8,472 |
Names like Kalai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kai Koa Lakai Kainoa Makai Kaleo Kailo Kanai Makoa Keanu Keoni Nakai
Names related to Kalai
More Tamil names
Nila Aathiran Iniya Aadhiran Nilah Kavin Aadhav Adhiran Venba Athiran Kayal Oviya Kannan Valli Nithila Iniyan
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, “Kalai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kalai, updated 20 October 2026.