Cali
Meaning
modern short form, possibly of Calista or the place name
The story
Cali is a modern short form with sunshine in it, read variously as a clip of Calista, an echo of the Greek kalos, beautiful, or simply California worn as a name, and our records honestly leave the door open. The sound family is well mapped: Callie, the standard spelling, counts about 69,300, and Kali, the K-signature, about 33,400, with Cali's own 23,700 close behind. The rise was steady: about 175 in the 1970s, 715 in the 1980s, 1,650 in the 1990s, 4,600 in the 2000s, cresting at 11,700 in the 2010s, with 4,900 so far this decade. It goes to girls about 23,300 to 400. Two syllables, a beach in the vowels, and a certificate that reads like a postcard: whichever root a family hears, the weather in the name is the same.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cali peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
124 people · the #35,437 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 25
Among people named Cali living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Cali
Most people given the name Cali in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Cali deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cali 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 Cali fits with your family’s names and surname.
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