Girls' name · since 1981
Calah
556 babies named Calah in U.S. Social Security records since 1981, with the highest year being 2000. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11,089 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,187 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 556
- born since 1981
- 1990s
- peak decade
Calah currently ranks #6187 among girls' names in America, with 556 babies recorded since 1981.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Calah has been recorded 556 times among girls since 1981, currently ranked #6187 nationally and more common than 64% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1990s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1981 to 2025.
- #11,089 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #6,187 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 556 born since 1981
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Calah ranks #11,089 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,187 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 556 born since 1981, peaking in the 1990s.
- #11,089 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,187 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 556
- born since 1981
- 1990s
- peak decade
Calah's 556 recorded births place it above 84.65% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Calah compares
556 Top 43% higher than 57% 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
Calah's all-time total is 48% above the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Calah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 556 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 25 | 21 | 19,840 |
Calah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Calah's SSA record in two at 2002 and the more recent half accounts for 42% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 58%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1983, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2000 peak of 25, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Calah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1981–2025
- Peak year (2000)
- 25
- Annual births at peak, across 45 years of records
Calah by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (196 births, 35% of the file).
1990s was Calah's strongest decade.
196 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 35% of all-time use.
Calah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s
1980s
82 births
- 1990s
1990s
196 births
- 2000s
2000s
144 births
- 2010s 59
2010s
59 births
- 2020s 75
2020s
75 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 196 births (35% of all-time use).
How Calah 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 Calah's total volume
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Calah's data
- Calah's usage has stayed within range of its 1990s decade-level peak (196 total births) through the 2020s (75) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Calah
Nearby Names Like Calah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Calah
Compare Calah side by side: Calah vs Callie Calah vs Cali Calah vs Calista
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Calah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Calah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2000)
Similar record span (~44 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, 1981–2025 (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 Calah 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.