Boys' name · since 1880
Cal
7,858 babies named Cal in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,387 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #542 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 7,858
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
Cal currently ranks #542 among boys' names in America, with 7,858 babies recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cal has been recorded 7,858 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #542 nationally and more common than 96% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 2020s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #1,387 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #542 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 7,858 born since 1880
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cal ranks #1,387 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #542 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 7,858 born since 1880, peaking in the 2020s.
- #1,387 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #542 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 7,858
- born since 1880
- 2020s
- peak decade
Cal's 7,858 recorded births place it above 96.95% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
40 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Cal compares
7,858 Top 10% higher than 90% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Cal's all-time total is 21x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cal | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 7,858 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 554 | 34 | 22,252 |
Cal's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Cal splits its recorded history at 1954: 83% of all births land in the more recent half, 17% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1885 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2025 peak of 554 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Cal popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 554
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Cal popularity over time - girls
10 total births recorded since 1954 (Cal as girls' name)
Cal by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (2,177 births, 28% of the file).
2020s was Cal's strongest decade.
2,177 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 28% of all-time use.
Cal births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 104
1880s
104 births
- 1890s 87
1890s
87 births
- 1900s 59
1900s
59 births
- 1910s 176
1910s
176 births
- 1920s 249
1920s
249 births
- 1930s 215
1930s
215 births
- 1940s 309
1940s
309 births
- 1950s 538
1950s
538 births
- 1960s 458
1960s
458 births
- 1970s 288
1970s
288 births
- 1980s 333
1980s
333 births
- 1990s 689
1990s
689 births
- 2000s
2000s
903 births
- 2010s
2010s
1,273 births
- 2020s
2020s
2,177 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 2,177 births (28% of all-time use).
How Cal compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Cal's total volume
Cal by state
Where Cal concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 640 | 8.1% |
| #2 | Texas | | 458 | 5.8% |
| #3 | Wisconsin | | 281 | 3.6% |
| #4 | Utah | | 233 | 3.0% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 231 | 2.9% |
| #6 | Minnesota | | 211 | 2.7% |
| #7 | New York | | 209 | 2.7% |
| #8 | Michigan | | 202 | 2.6% |
640 of 7,858 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Cal appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cal? ▼
Where does Cal sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cal most popular? ▼
Where is Cal most popular? ▼
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What to do with Cal's data
- California records the most Cals (640 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cal
Nearby Names Like Cal
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cal
Compare Cal side by side: Cal vs Caleb Cal vs Calvin Cal vs Callum
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cal
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cal: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Cal draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.