Recorded 1957–2025 · United States
Kali was most popular in 2019, when 1,353 American babies were given the name — ranking #509 that year. In 2025 it ranked #668, with 972 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 33,438 people named Kali.
Kali first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1957, which makes it about 68 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 69 of the 69 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 33,438 American births named Kali between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 33,026 are estimated to be alive today.
972 American babies were named Kali in 2025, ranking #668 that year.
Kali is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,119 births a year, against 954 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +17% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Kali is a girl’s name — 97.3% of the 33,438 Americans given it were girls and 2.7% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 97% girls and 3% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 33,026 Americans named Kali are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 16 years old, and half are between 8 and 29.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Kali on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org