Khalil
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- kha-LEEL
- Origin
- Arabic
- UK rank, 2025
- #360 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #384 for boys
Khalil is a boys' name of Arabic origin, meaning “friend”. In 2025 it ranked 360th for boys in the UK (131 babies) and 384th for boys in the US (826 babies).
What does Khalil mean?
Arabic: from Arabic khalil
“friend”
Khalil Allah, Friend of God, is a title of Abraham; Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, bore a spelling of the name.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Khalil a girl's or a boy's name?
Khalil is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 131 boys in the UK and 826 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Khalil in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 360th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 131 about 1 in 2,300 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 61% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 131 boys in the UK were named Khalil, making it the 360th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 423rd. Its busiest year was 2024, with 160 boys.
Half of all the boys named Khalil in the UK since 1996 were born between 2010 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 166 boys in the UK were given Khalil or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #317, up from #360 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 331st in England and Wales and 762nd in Scotland.
Khalil in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 131 | #360 |
| 2024 | 160 | #312 |
| 2023 | 133 | #356 |
| 2022 | 112 | #415 |
| 2021 | 105 | #448 |
| 2020 | 109 | #423 |
| 2019 | 92 | #490 |
| 2018 | 63 | #639 |
| 2017 | 48 | #778 |
| 2016 | 56 | #691 |
| 2015 | 48 | #747 |
| 2014 | 62 | #633 |
| 2013 | 42 | #823 |
| 2012 | 37 | #905 |
| 2011 | 49 | #721 |
| 2010 | 33 | #951 |
| 2009 | 43 | #760 |
| 2008 | 27 | #1,047 |
| 2007 | 25 | #1,065 |
| 2006 | 28 | #939 |
| 2005 | 26 | #944 |
| 2004 | 27 | #864 |
| 2003 | 32 | #737 |
| 2002 | 21 | #918 |
| 2001 | 23 | #818 |
| 2000 | 26 | #743 |
| 1999 | 20 | #870 |
| 1998 | 31 | #637 |
| 1997 | 29 | #641 |
| 1996 | 25 | #677 |
How popular is Khalil in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 384th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 826 about 1 in 2,100 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 826 boys in the US were named Khalil, making it the 384th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 274th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 1,233 boys. It first appears in the records in 1957.
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Khalil than any year since 2018.
Half of all the boys named Khalil in the US since 1880 were born between 2000 and 2019, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 887 boys in the US were given Khalil or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #379, up from #384 for this spelling alone.
Khalil in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 826 | #384 |
| 2024 | 831 | #392 |
| 2023 | 982 | #340 |
| 2022 | 1,091 | #308 |
| 2021 | 1,148 | #294 |
| 2020 | 1,233 | #274 |
| 2019 | 1,127 | #302 |
| 2018 | 803 | #395 |
| 2017 | 733 | #424 |
| 2016 | 696 | #444 |
| 2015 | 624 | #479 |
| 2014 | 625 | #465 |
| 2013 | 602 | #465 |
| 2012 | 616 | #446 |
| 2011 | 580 | #462 |
| 2010 | 516 | #501 |
| 2009 | 553 | #496 |
| 2008 | 557 | #492 |
| 2007 | 556 | #481 |
| 2006 | 600 | #449 |
| 2005 | 566 | #452 |
| 2004 | 620 | #418 |
| 2003 | 546 | #461 |
| 2002 | 583 | #424 |
| 2001 | 626 | #400 |
| 2000 | 619 | #404 |
| 1999 | 700 | #372 |
| 1998 | 611 | #400 |
| 1997 | 577 | #403 |
| 1996 | 714 | #348 |
| 1995 | 1,118 | #251 |
| 1994 | 372 | #526 |
| 1993 | 287 | #614 |
| 1992 | 249 | #656 |
| 1991 | 154 | #829 |
| 1990 | 144 | #847 |
| 1989 | 113 | #957 |
| 1988 | 84 | #1,081 |
| 1987 | 78 | #1,087 |
| 1986 | 82 | #1,022 |
| 1985 | 80 | #1,019 |
| 1984 | 76 | #1,021 |
| 1983 | 69 | #1,067 |
| 1982 | 76 | #1,039 |
| 1981 | 68 | #1,101 |
| 1980 | 74 | #1,047 |
| 1979 | 78 | #1,005 |
| 1978 | 64 | #1,087 |
| 1977 | 56 | #1,177 |
| 1976 | 45 | #1,320 |
| 1975 | 35 | #1,504 |
| 1974 | 20 | #2,129 |
| 1973 | 12 | #2,855 |
| 1972 | 25 | #1,771 |
| 1971 | 17 | #2,278 |
| 1970 | 11 | #2,890 |
| 1969 | 6 | #3,934 |
| 1968 | 14 | #2,199 |
| 1967 | 8 | #2,984 |
| 1966 | 7 | #3,247 |
| 1965 | 7 | #3,242 |
| 1964 | 7 | #3,281 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 6 | #3,638 |
| 1961 | 6 | #3,650 |
| 1960 | 7 | #3,335 |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 5 | #3,991 |
Names like Khalil
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Muhammad, Ahmed, Abdullah, Hamza, Musa, Mustafa, Umar, Amir, Zayd, Ibrahim, Zayan, Zayaan
Other spellings of Khalil
Names related to Khalil
More Arabic names
Layla, Mohammed, Lyla, Mohammad, Zara, Aaliyah, Amira, Fatima, Ali, Yahya, Zayn, Aisha, Omar, Zahra, Kairo, Safa
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, “Khalil: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/khalil, updated 20 October 2026.