Kale
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- KAYL
- US rank, 2025
- #7,190 for boys
Kale is a girls' name. In 2025 it ranked 7,190th for boys in the US (11 babies).
What does Kale mean?
Probably a short form of Caleb; also Hawaiian for Charles
Often used like Cale, a short form of Caleb; in Hawaiian, Kale is the form of Charles.
Is Kale a girl's or a boy's name?
Kale is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 11 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kale in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2022, with 3 girls.
How popular is Kale in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 7,190th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 11 about 1 in 160,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 57% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 11 boys in the US were named Kale, making it the 7,190th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,017th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 544 boys. It first appears in the records in 1917.
2025 had fewer boys named Kale than any year since 1966.
Half of all the boys named Kale in the US since 1880 were born between 1995 and 2010, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 422 boys in the US were given Kale or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #625, up from #7,190 for this spelling alone.
Kale in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11 | #7,190 |
| 2024 | 18 | #5,237 |
| 2023 | 13 | #6,512 |
| 2022 | 23 | #4,438 |
| 2021 | 28 | #3,810 |
| 2020 | 25 | #4,017 |
| 2019 | 26 | #4,000 |
| 2018 | 46 | #2,673 |
| 2017 | 62 | #2,169 |
| 2016 | 101 | #1,605 |
| 2015 | 177 | #1,096 |
| 2014 | 216 | #970 |
| 2013 | 259 | #829 |
| 2012 | 325 | #721 |
| 2011 | 424 | #590 |
| 2010 | 423 | #590 |
| 2009 | 521 | #516 |
| 2008 | 544 | #504 |
| 2007 | 382 | #635 |
| 2006 | 272 | #767 |
| 2005 | 264 | #754 |
| 2004 | 225 | #801 |
| 2003 | 184 | #904 |
| 2002 | 179 | #900 |
| 2001 | 158 | #972 |
| 2000 | 150 | #984 |
| 1999 | 128 | #1,061 |
| 1998 | 137 | #996 |
| 1997 | 103 | #1,166 |
| 1996 | 93 | #1,204 |
| 1995 | 94 | #1,190 |
| 1994 | 107 | #1,074 |
| 1993 | 109 | #1,056 |
| 1992 | 100 | #1,093 |
| 1991 | 91 | #1,149 |
| 1990 | 108 | #1,017 |
| 1989 | 93 | #1,090 |
| 1988 | 108 | #915 |
| 1987 | 119 | #857 |
| 1986 | 83 | #1,014 |
| 1985 | 92 | #950 |
| 1984 | 65 | #1,122 |
| 1983 | 49 | #1,326 |
| 1982 | 42 | #1,486 |
| 1981 | 51 | #1,294 |
| 1980 | 43 | #1,449 |
| 1979 | 37 | #1,570 |
| 1978 | 44 | #1,393 |
| 1977 | 36 | #1,546 |
| 1976 | 32 | #1,645 |
| 1975 | 36 | #1,478 |
| 1974 | 30 | #1,618 |
| 1973 | 32 | #1,514 |
| 1972 | 20 | #2,020 |
| 1971 | 27 | #1,704 |
| 1970 | 28 | #1,614 |
| 1969 | 16 | #2,129 |
| 1968 | 16 | #2,029 |
| 1967 | 13 | #2,241 |
| 1966 | 9 | #2,783 |
| 1965 | 7 | #3,242 |
| 1964 | 9 | #2,853 |
| 1963 | 14 | #2,199 |
| 1962 | 16 | #2,034 |
| 1961 | 8 | #3,095 |
| 1960 | 9 | #2,869 |
| 1959 | 5 | #3,986 |
| 1958 | 7 | #3,273 |
| 1957 | 7 | #3,255 |
| 1956 | 12 | #2,359 |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 5 | #3,796 |
| 1952 | 5 | #3,731 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 6 | #2,995 |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 5 | #3,516 |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 11 | #2,586 |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 0 | – |
| 1917 | 6 | #3,543 |
Names like Kale
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kehlani, Noa, Kalani, Koa, Alani, Khloe, Milani, Maeve, Sloane, Layla, Xyla, Ailbhe
Other spellings of Kale
Names related to Kale
Kali, Kallie, Kaylee, Kayley, Kaleah, Kalea, Kaylie, Kaela, Kalel, Kaleo, Kal, Kalei, Kaleel, Khaleo, Kalo
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, “Kale: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kale, updated 20 October 2026.