Kali
Meaning
Hindu goddess name, traditionally "the black one"
The story
Kali is the name of one of Hinduism's great goddesses, traditionally read as the black one, the fierce mother who destroys evil and wears time itself, worshipped by millions with particular devotion in Bengal. The American record almost certainly braids two roads that cannot be split: families choosing the goddess deliberately, and families arriving at the same four letters through the Kaylee and Callie sound family, and our records decline to apportion them. The curve: about 660 in the 1970s, 2,800, then 7,000 in the 1990s, a dip, and 10,200 in the 2010s, with 6,800 so far this decade. In our records it goes to girls about 32,500 to 900. Whichever road a family took, the name on the certificate is also a deity in active worship, which deserves saying plainly: some names borrow myth; this one belongs to a living faith.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Kali peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
326 people · the #17,966 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 16
Among people named Kali living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 84 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Kali
Most people given the name Kali 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 Kali deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Kali 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 Kali fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Kali fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Kali to your family’s tree →