Girls' name · since 1967
Kaela
Kaela has 6,358 recorded births since 1967 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1996 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #2,207 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,167 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 6,358
- born since 1967
- 1990s
- peak decade
Yes -- Kaela is the #6167 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 6,358 recorded since 1967.
Kaela has 6,358 recorded births among girls since 1967, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #6167 as of the latest data, more common than 64% 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 1967 to 2025.
- #2,207 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #6,167 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 6,358 born since 1967
- 1990s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kaela ranks #2,207 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #6,167 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 6,358 born since 1967, peaking in the 1990s.
- #2,207 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #6,167 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 6,358
- born since 1967
- 1990s
- peak decade
Kaela's 6,358 recorded births place it above 96.94% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
36 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kaela compares
6,358 Top 12% higher than 88% 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
Kaela's all-time total is 17x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kaela | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 6,358 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 345 | 21 | 19,840 |
Kaela's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Kaela's full recorded timeline at 1998, 49% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 51% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1973, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1996 peak of 345 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Kaela popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1967–2025
- Peak year (1996)
- 345
- Annual births at peak, across 59 years of records
Kaela by decade
1990s is the heaviest window (2,847 births, 45% of the file).
1990s was Kaela's strongest decade.
2,847 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 45% of all-time use.
Kaela births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 7
1960s
7 births
- 1970s 65
1970s
65 births
- 1980s 961
1980s
961 births
- 1990s
1990s
2,847 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,913 births
- 2010s 434
2010s
434 births
- 2020s 131
2020s
131 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 2,847 births (45% of all-time use).
How Kaela 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 Kaela's total volume
Kaela by state
Where Kaela concentrates geographically, total births since 1967
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 993 | 15.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 448 | 7.0% |
| #3 | New York | | 346 | 5.4% |
| #4 | Florida | | 284 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 203 | 3.2% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 200 | 3.1% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 192 | 3.0% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 185 | 2.9% |
993 of 6,358 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 36 reporting states.
Kaela appears in 36 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Kaela? ▼
Where does Kaela sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Kaela most popular? ▼
Where is Kaela most popular? ▼
How long has the name Kaela been used? ▼
What names are similar to Kaela? ▼
What to do with Kaela's data
- Kaela's decade-level peak was the 1990s (2,847 total births); usage has since declined to 131 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Kaelas (993 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 Kaela
Nearby Names Like Kaela
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kaela
Compare Kaela side by side: Kaela vs Kaelyn Kaela vs Kaelynn Kaela vs Kaeli
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kaela
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kaela: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1996)
Similar record span (~58 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, 1967–2025 (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 Kaela 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.