Kalem
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KAL-em
- Origin
- Scottish
- US rank, 2025
- #8,239 for boys
Kalem is a boys' name of Scottish origin, meaning “dove”. In 2025 it ranked 8,239th for boys in the US (9 babies).
What does Kalem mean?
Scottish: probably a variant of Callum, the Gaelic form of Columba
“dove”
Saint Columba, the Irish monk who founded the abbey on Iona, gave Scotland the name Calum.
Is Kalem a girl's or a boy's name?
Kalem is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 9 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kalem in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1997, with 38 boys.
Half of all the boys named Kalem in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2010. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Kalem in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 | #5,017 |
| 2021 | 3 | #4,989 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,234 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 12 | #1,990 |
| 2014 | 7 | #2,843 |
| 2013 | 8 | #2,541 |
| 2012 | 7 | #2,849 |
| 2011 | 25 | #1,125 |
| 2010 | 24 | #1,170 |
| 2009 | 14 | #1,674 |
| 2008 | 18 | #1,378 |
| 2007 | 18 | #1,343 |
| 2006 | 13 | #1,558 |
| 2005 | 17 | #1,267 |
| 2004 | 13 | #1,417 |
| 2003 | 14 | #1,272 |
| 2002 | 7 | #1,900 |
| 2001 | 22 | #845 |
| 2000 | 20 | #882 |
| 1999 | 22 | #807 |
| 1998 | 30 | #657 |
| 1997 | 38 | #535 |
| 1996 | 26 | #662 |
How popular is Kalem in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 8,239th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 9 about 1 in 190,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 54% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 9 boys in the US were named Kalem, making it the 8,239th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,568th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 38 boys. It first appears in the records in 1974.
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Kalem than any year since 1983.
Half of all the boys named Kalem in the US since 1880 were born between 1994 and 2016, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 3,466 boys in the US were given Kalem or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #114, up from #8,239 for this spelling alone.
Kalem in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #8,239 |
| 2024 | 13 | #6,464 |
| 2023 | 19 | #5,070 |
| 2022 | 27 | #3,992 |
| 2021 | 23 | #4,358 |
| 2020 | 30 | #3,568 |
| 2019 | 33 | #3,423 |
| 2018 | 27 | #3,887 |
| 2017 | 38 | #3,070 |
| 2016 | 29 | #3,680 |
| 2015 | 30 | #3,590 |
| 2014 | 35 | #3,152 |
| 2013 | 29 | #3,580 |
| 2012 | 24 | #4,128 |
| 2011 | 19 | #4,820 |
| 2010 | 22 | #4,365 |
| 2009 | 34 | #3,272 |
| 2008 | 28 | #3,741 |
| 2007 | 21 | #4,491 |
| 2006 | 23 | #4,101 |
| 2005 | 14 | #5,572 |
| 2004 | 17 | #4,788 |
| 2003 | 22 | #3,833 |
| 2002 | 23 | #3,665 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,660 |
| 2000 | 15 | #4,779 |
| 1999 | 20 | #3,699 |
| 1998 | 23 | #3,292 |
| 1997 | 25 | #2,976 |
| 1996 | 16 | #4,016 |
| 1995 | 17 | #3,687 |
| 1994 | 11 | #5,103 |
| 1993 | 18 | #3,495 |
| 1992 | 10 | #5,228 |
| 1991 | 24 | #2,747 |
| 1990 | 20 | #3,052 |
| 1989 | 23 | #2,684 |
| 1988 | 19 | #2,855 |
| 1987 | 12 | #3,726 |
| 1986 | 10 | #4,126 |
| 1985 | 13 | #3,398 |
| 1984 | 10 | #3,922 |
| 1983 | 7 | #4,904 |
| 1982 | 17 | #2,708 |
| 1981 | 6 | #5,466 |
| 1980 | 9 | #4,133 |
| 1979 | 8 | #4,401 |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 15 | #2,790 |
| 1976 | 10 | #3,469 |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 6 | #4,632 |
Nicknames for Kalem
- Kal 6 boys in the UK in 2025
Names like Kalem
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Hamza, Muhammad, Ibrahim, Musa, Ahmed, Khalid, Hassan, Abdullah, Umar, Liam, Mustafa, Amir
Other spellings of Kalem
Names related to Kalem
More Scottish names
Isla, Finley, Logan, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Brody, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox
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, “Kalem: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kalem, updated 20 October 2026.