Kali
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- KAH-lee
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- UK rank, 2025
- #973 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #323 for girls
Big in Scotland
Kali is a girls' name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “the black one”. In 2025 it ranked 973rd for girls in the UK (38 babies) and 323rd for girls in the US (948 babies).
What does Kali mean?
Sanskrit: name of a Hindu goddess; also a spelling of Callie
“the black one”
Kali is the fierce Hindu goddess of time and destruction, a form of Shiva's consort; in English it is also a spelling of Callie.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Kali a girl's or a boy's name?
Kali is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 38 girls in the UK and 948 girls and 24 boys in the US.
How popular is Kali in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #973among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 38about 1 in 7,300 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 4% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 38 girls in the UK were named Kali, making it the 973rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 745th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 54 girls.
Half of all the girls named Kali in the UK since 1996 were born between 2006 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,229th in England and Wales, 359th in Scotland and 397th in Northern Ireland.
Kali in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 38 | #973 |
| 2024 | 53 | #771 |
| 2023 | 51 | #768 |
| 2022 | 38 | #974 |
| 2021 | 54 | #756 |
| 2020 | 54 | #745 |
| 2019 | 49 | #822 |
| 2018 | 34 | #1,098 |
| 2017 | 35 | #1,079 |
| 2016 | 37 | #1,037 |
| 2015 | 24 | #1,431 |
| 2014 | 26 | #1,336 |
| 2013 | 21 | #1,559 |
| 2012 | 14 | #2,103 |
| 2011 | 25 | #1,335 |
| 2010 | 29 | #1,200 |
| 2009 | 23 | #1,360 |
| 2008 | 30 | #1,090 |
| 2007 | 19 | #1,477 |
| 2006 | 24 | #1,188 |
| 2005 | 28 | #1,004 |
| 2004 | 29 | #967 |
| 2003 | 16 | #1,420 |
| 2002 | 25 | #990 |
| 2001 | 16 | #1,325 |
| 2000 | 18 | #1,182 |
| 1999 | 24 | #975 |
| 1998 | 23 | #1,015 |
| 1997 | 9 | #1,927 |
| 1996 | 11 | #1,621 |
How popular is Kali in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #323among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 948about 1 in 1,700 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 948 girls in the US were named Kali, making it the 323rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 253rd. Its busiest year was 2019, with 1,312 girls. It first appears in the records in 1957. 24 boys were also named Kali in 2025 (4,248th for boys).
2025 had fewer girls named Kali than any year since 2013.
Half of all the girls named Kali in the US since 1880 were born between 1997 and 2018, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 1,005 girls in the US were given Kali or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #336.
In 2025, 98% of the babies named Kali in the US were girls.
Kali in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 948 | #323 |
| 2024 | 1,073 | #295 |
| 2023 | 1,072 | #290 |
| 2022 | 1,228 | #250 |
| 2021 | 1,123 | #284 |
| 2020 | 1,181 | #253 |
| 2019 | 1,312 | #241 |
| 2018 | 1,208 | #274 |
| 2017 | 1,089 | #302 |
| 2016 | 1,086 | #300 |
| 2015 | 1,187 | #267 |
| 2014 | 1,260 | #261 |
| 2013 | 872 | #363 |
| 2012 | 748 | #420 |
| 2011 | 602 | #493 |
| 2010 | 545 | #537 |
| 2009 | 602 | #501 |
| 2008 | 618 | #504 |
| 2007 | 668 | #486 |
| 2006 | 549 | #541 |
| 2005 | 554 | #526 |
| 2004 | 527 | #543 |
| 2003 | 494 | #562 |
| 2002 | 495 | #552 |
| 2001 | 592 | #469 |
| 2000 | 660 | #425 |
| 1999 | 763 | #375 |
| 1998 | 686 | #400 |
| 1997 | 800 | #348 |
| 1996 | 850 | #332 |
| 1995 | 756 | #348 |
| 1994 | 650 | #388 |
| 1993 | 595 | #420 |
| 1992 | 630 | #403 |
| 1991 | 560 | #453 |
| 1990 | 558 | #443 |
| 1989 | 472 | #497 |
| 1988 | 348 | #584 |
| 1987 | 346 | #573 |
| 1986 | 359 | #559 |
| 1985 | 329 | #591 |
| 1984 | 306 | #589 |
| 1983 | 206 | #774 |
| 1982 | 166 | #910 |
| 1981 | 129 | #1,082 |
| 1980 | 91 | #1,373 |
| 1979 | 53 | #1,952 |
| 1978 | 68 | #1,581 |
| 1977 | 61 | #1,701 |
| 1976 | 45 | #1,968 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,586 |
| 1974 | 65 | #1,499 |
| 1973 | 34 | #2,267 |
| 1972 | 47 | #1,804 |
| 1971 | 61 | #1,575 |
| 1970 | 30 | #2,450 |
| 1969 | 16 | #3,460 |
| 1968 | 9 | #4,778 |
| 1967 | 12 | #3,844 |
| 1966 | 9 | #4,492 |
| 1965 | 6 | #5,816 |
| 1964 | 10 | #4,354 |
| 1963 | 6 | #5,890 |
| 1962 | 7 | #5,292 |
| 1961 | 5 | #6,566 |
| 1960 | 7 | #5,167 |
| 1959 | 8 | #4,624 |
| 1958 | 7 | #4,889 |
| 1957 | 6 | #5,376 |
Names like Kali
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Noa Kehlani Layla Maya Alani Kalani Ayla Kaia Khadija Lexi Raya Zainab
Other spellings of Kali
Names related to Kali
Kallie Kaila Kalia Kalila Kaliah Khalia Kalli Kaylie Kaeli Kaleia
More Sanskrit names
Bodhi Arya Lila Arjun Aarav Rohan Aryan Opal Arjan Vihaan Aadhya Avyaan Ishaan Siya Leena Shivansh
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, “Kali: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kali, updated 20 October 2026.