Kalila
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- ka-LEE-la
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,856 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #3,100 for girls
Kalila is a girls' name of Arabic origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,856th for girls in the UK (9 babies) and 3,100th for girls in the US (52 babies).
What does Kalila mean?
Arabic: possibly linked to Khalila 'friend'
Kalila is one of the two jackals in Kalila wa Dimna, the classic Arabic version of the Indian Panchatantra fables.
Is Kalila a girl's or a boy's name?
Kalila is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 9 girls in the UK and 52 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kalila in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,856th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 9 about 1 in 31,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 42% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 9 girls in the UK were named Kalila, making it the 2,856th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,009th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 9 girls.
Half of all the girls named Kalila in the UK since 1996 were born between 2005 and 2022. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 37 girls in the UK were given Kalila or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #904, up from #2,856 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,786th in England and Wales.
Kalila in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #2,856 |
| 2024 | 9 | #2,832 |
| 2023 | 9 | #2,841 |
| 2022 | 6 | #3,728 |
| 2021 | 5 | #4,148 |
| 2020 | 8 | #3,009 |
| 2019 | 5 | #4,214 |
| 2018 | 6 | #3,702 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,967 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 3 | #5,983 |
| 2014 | 4 | #4,888 |
| 2013 | 5 | #4,267 |
| 2012 | 3 | #6,108 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 4 | #4,931 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 7 | #3,203 |
| 2007 | 4 | #4,494 |
| 2006 | 5 | #3,724 |
| 2005 | 8 | #2,555 |
| 2004 | 5 | #3,356 |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 5 | #3,047 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 1 | #5,280 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
| 1996 | 6 | #2,469 |
How popular is Kalila in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,100th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 52 about 1 in 31,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 52 girls in the US were named Kalila, making it the 3,100th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,606th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 67 girls. It first appears in the records in 1977.
Half of all the girls named Kalila in the US since 1880 were born between 2001 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 217 girls in the US were given Kalila or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,008, up from #3,100 for this spelling alone.
Kalila in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52 | #3,100 |
| 2024 | 42 | #3,639 |
| 2023 | 47 | #3,386 |
| 2022 | 41 | #3,701 |
| 2021 | 57 | #2,929 |
| 2020 | 41 | #3,606 |
| 2019 | 67 | #2,593 |
| 2018 | 61 | #2,781 |
| 2017 | 56 | #2,925 |
| 2016 | 44 | #3,523 |
| 2015 | 42 | #3,649 |
| 2014 | 39 | #3,846 |
| 2013 | 40 | #3,776 |
| 2012 | 24 | #5,555 |
| 2011 | 26 | #5,205 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6,180 |
| 2009 | 18 | #7,063 |
| 2008 | 24 | #5,747 |
| 2007 | 21 | #6,319 |
| 2006 | 26 | #5,232 |
| 2005 | 21 | #5,795 |
| 2004 | 20 | #5,965 |
| 2003 | 22 | #5,414 |
| 2002 | 22 | #5,250 |
| 2001 | 19 | #5,817 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,202 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,185 |
| 1998 | 23 | #4,633 |
| 1997 | 14 | #6,478 |
| 1996 | 18 | #5,275 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,074 |
| 1994 | 15 | #5,978 |
| 1993 | 16 | #5,667 |
| 1992 | 10 | #8,057 |
| 1991 | 10 | #7,980 |
| 1990 | 19 | #4,863 |
| 1989 | 10 | #7,443 |
| 1988 | 5 | #11,792 |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 7 | #8,518 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,029 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,139 |
| 1983 | 11 | #5,822 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,222 |
| 1981 | 12 | #5,570 |
| 1980 | 10 | #6,318 |
| 1979 | 11 | #5,750 |
| 1978 | 6 | #8,560 |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
Nicknames for Kalila
Names like Kalila
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Layla, Noa, Khadija, Safa, Amira, Kehlani, Kalani, Ayla, Liyana, Hafsa, Halima, Syeda
Other spellings of Kalila
Names related to Kalila
More Arabic names
Muhammad, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amir, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Hamza, Kairo
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, “Kalila: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kalila, updated 20 October 2026.