Boys' name · since 1977

Calem

Calem has 437 recorded births since 1977 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2009 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#8,546 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#6,921 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
437
born since 1977
2010s
peak decade

Calem currently ranks #6921 among boys' names in America, with 437 babies recorded since 1977.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Calem has been recorded 437 times among boys since 1977, currently ranked #6921 nationally and more common than 50% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 2010s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1977 to 2025.

  • #8,546 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #6,921 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 437 born since 1977
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Calem ranks #8,546 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,921 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 437 born since 1977, peaking in the 2010s.

#8,546 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#6,921 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
437
born since 1977
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%50.3%
Calem vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Calem's 437 recorded births place it above 81.18% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

National only
State-record footprint

No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.

How Calem compares

437 Top 47% higher than 53% 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

Calem's all-time total is 18% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Calem Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 437 369 358,536
Peak-year births 21 34 22,252

Calem's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Calem's SSA record in two at 2006 and the more recent half accounts for 62% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 38%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1977, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2009 peak of 21, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Calem popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1977–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2009)
21
Annual births at peak, across 49 years of records
0510152025 197719911996200120062011201620212025 12

Calem by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (139 births, 32% of the file).

2010s was Calem's strongest decade.

139 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 32% of all-time use.

Calem births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 139 births (32% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Calem?
437 babies have been named Calem since 1977. All-time, it sits at #8,546 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #6,921 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2009 with 21 births.
Where does Calem sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Calem ranks #8,546 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,921 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Calem most popular?
Calem was most popular in the 2010s decade with 139 total births. The single peak year was 2009.
How long has the name Calem been used?
The SSA has tracked Calem since 1977 -- 49 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Calem?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Caleb, Calvin, Callum, Callan, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Calem's data

  • Calem's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (139 total births) through the 2020s (78) -- 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 Calem

Nearby Names Like Calem

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Calem

Names with a similar popularity rank to Calem

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Calem: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1977–2025 (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 Calem 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.