Caleb
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Meaning
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
Goes by Cal, Cale. See all nicknames
The story
Caleb walks out of the Book of Numbers: one of the twelve scouts Moses sent ahead into Canaan and, alongside Joshua, one of only two who came back urging faith instead of fear. That story made the name a byword for whole-hearted devotion, and the Puritans, who loved a name with a lesson in it, brought Caleb to colonial America. For a long stretch it lived quietly in the records, an old Bible name passed down here and there but rarely fashionable. That changed in the late twentieth century: Caleb began climbing in the 1980s, gathered speed through the 1990s, and spent the 2000s and 2010s as a mainstream favorite. It has softened only a touch in the 2020s. Underneath the trend, it remains what it always was: a name for the one who keeps the faith when everyone else loses it.
How popular is Caleb around the world?
In the United States, 33,947 babies were named Caleb between 2020 and 2025. In Mexico City, there were 337 registrations of Caleb in 2022.
Caleb is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, Argentina, England and Wales, New Zealand, Ireland, Chile, France, Austria, Brazil, Montevideo and Spain.
Caleb crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 640
In the United States, 33,947 babies were named Caleb between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Caleb peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. Caleb went to 8,837 US babies in 2015 and 5,217 in 2025, 59% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 350
In Mexico City, there were 337 registrations of Caleb in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (18 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
1 in 400
In Puerto Rico, 45 babies were named Caleb in 2025, and 1,535 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Scotland
1 in 450
In Scotland, 101 boys named Caleb were registered in 2024, the 42nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
1 in 5602017
In South Australia, 33 boys were registered as Caleb in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Canada
1 in 630
In Canada, 579 boys named Caleb were born in 2024, the 35th most common name 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)
Argentina
1 in 910
In Argentina, 730 newborns were given the name Caleb in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
England and Wales
1 in 940
In England and Wales, 624 boys named Caleb were born in 2025, the 82nd most common name 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
New Zealand
1 in 960
In New Zealand, 60 boys named Caleb were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Ireland
1 in 1,000
In Ireland, 52 boys named Caleb were born in 2025, the 108th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Chile
1 in 2,300
In Chile, 78 boys were registered as Caleb in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
France
1 in 5,000
In France, about 130 boys named Caleb were born in 2025, the 381st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 5,900
In Austria, 13 boys named Caleb were born in 2025, the 390th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
1 in 11,000
At the 2022 census, 18,012 people in Brazil were named Caleb, ranked 1,137th, with a median age of 5.
Among people named Caleb living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 6,638 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 boy named Caleb was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Spain
1 in 74,000
In Spain, 605 residents are named Caleb, ranked 2,008th among men, with a mean age of 11.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Caleb is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Poland
last on record 2022
Caleb is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Caleb
Most people given the name Caleb in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Caleb travels
Korean American · whole-hearted, faithful (the loyal scout; a newer church favorite for Korean American sons)
Hebrew · faithful, whole-hearted
Keep exploring
Names like Caleb · Names that go with Caleb · Nicknames for Caleb · Korean American baby names · Hebrew baby names · Climbers and fallers
The Caleb deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Caleb 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 Caleb fits with your family’s names and surname.
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