Girls' name · since 1950
Cala
502 babies named Cala in U.S. Social Security records since 1950, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11,830 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,226 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 502
- born since 1950
- 1990s
- peak decade
502 babies have been named Cala since 1950, making it today's #10226 girls' name.
Cala has 502 recorded births among girls since 1950, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #10226 as of the latest data, more common than 41% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1950 to 2025.
- #11,830 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #10,226 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 502 born since 1950
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cala ranks #11,830 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,226 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 502 born since 1950, peaking in the 1990s.
- #11,830 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #10,226 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 502
- born since 1950
- 1990s
- peak decade
Cala's 502 recorded births place it above 83.62% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Cala compares
502 Top 45% higher than 55% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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
Cala's all-time total is 34% above the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cala | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 502 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 30 | 21 | 19,840 |
Cala's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Cala's SSA record in two at 2002 and the more recent half accounts for 36% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 64%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1950, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1990 peak of 30, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Cala popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1950–2025
- Peak year (1990)
- 30
- Annual births at peak, across 76 years of records
Cala by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (185 births, 37% of the file).
1990s was Cala's strongest decade.
185 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 37% of all-time use.
Cala births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1950s 5
1950s
5 births
- 1980s
1980s
108 births
- 1990s
1990s
185 births
- 2000s
2000s
92 births
- 2010s 57
2010s
57 births
- 2020s 55
2020s
55 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 185 births (37% of all-time use).
How Cala compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Cala's total volume
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Cala's data
- Cala's decade-level peak was the 1990s (185 total births); usage has since declined to 55 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cala
Nearby Names Like Cala
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cala
Compare Cala side by side: Cala vs Callie Cala vs Cali Cala vs Calista
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cala
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cala: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1990)
Similar record span (~75 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, 1950–2025 (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 Cala 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.