Cal
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Meaning
short form of Calvin, from Latin 'calvus' meaning 'bald'
The formal names behind Cal
Cal is an established short form of each of these names.
Calvin · French origin · from surname Cauvin, "little bald one"
Callum · Scottish origin · dove
Callahan · Irish origin · Irish surname meaning 'descendant of Ceallachán', traditionally linked to 'strife' or 'bright-headed'
Caleb · Hebrew origin · traditionally "whole-hearted," often linked to the Hebrew for "dog" as an emblem of devotion; the scout who kept faith in the wilderness and entered the promised land. A Puritan favorite returned as a modern staple, with Cal for short
How popular is Cal around the world?
In the United States, 2,177 babies were named Cal between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 6 boys named Cal were born in 2025, the 509th most common name among boys that year.
Cal is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Canada, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 10,000
In the United States, 2,177 babies were named Cal between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cal peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 9,000
In Ireland, 6 boys named Cal were born in 2025, the 509th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 15,000
In Canada, 24 boys named Cal were born in 2024, ranked 1,037th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 150,000
In England and Wales, 4 boys named Cal were born in 2025, ranked 4,275th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 69 people in Brazil were named Cal, ranked 53,441st, with a median age of 36.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Scotland
last on record 2023
Cal is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2013
Cal is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
The Cal deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cal truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cal fits with your family’s names and surname.
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