Unisex name · since 1987
Kaelan
Kaelan has 1,520 recorded births since 1987 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1998 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #3,921 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #5,110 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,520
- born since 1987
- 2000s
- peak decade
1,520 babies have been named Kaelan since 1987, making it today's #5110 unisex name.
Kaelan has 1,520 recorded births among boys since 1987, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #5110 as of the latest data, more common than 63% of boys, busiest in the 2000s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1987 to 2025.
- #3,921 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #5,110 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 1,520 born since 1987
- 2000s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kaelan ranks #3,921 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,110 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 1,520 born since 1987, peaking in the 2000s.
- #3,921 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #5,110 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,520
- born since 1987
- 2000s
- peak decade
Kaelan's 1,520 recorded births place it above 91.37% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
10 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kaelan compares
1,520 Top 25% higher than 75% 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
Kaelan's all-time total is 4x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kaelan | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,520 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 91 | 34 | 22,252 |
Kaelan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Kaelan splits its recorded history at 2007: 38% of all births land in the more recent half, 62% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1989 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1998 peak of 91 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Kaelan popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1987–2025
- Peak year (1998)
- 91
- Annual births at peak, across 39 years of records
Kaelan popularity over time - girls
431 total births recorded since 1987 (Kaelan as girls' name)
Kaelan by decade
2000s is the heaviest window (591 births, 39% of the file).
2000s was Kaelan's strongest decade.
591 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 39% of all-time use.
Kaelan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1980s 21
1980s
21 births
- 1990s
1990s
484 births
- 2000s
2000s
591 births
- 2010s
2010s
315 births
- 2020s 109
2020s
109 births
What this shows Peak: 2000s at 591 births (39% of all-time use).
How Kaelan 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 Kaelan's total volume
Kaelan by state
Where Kaelan concentrates geographically, total births since 1987
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 129 | 8.5% |
| #2 | Texas | | 76 | 5.0% |
| #3 | Florida | | 22 | 1.4% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 20 | 1.3% |
| #5 | New York | | 19 | 1.3% |
| #6 | Washington | | 7 | 0.5% |
| #7 | Louisiana | | 6 | 0.4% |
| #8 | Colorado | | 5 | 0.3% |
129 of 1,520 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 10 reporting states.
Kaelan appears in 10 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Kaelan's data
- Kaelan's decade-level peak was the 2000s (591 total births); usage has since declined to 109 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Kaelans (129 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 Kaelan
Nearby Names Like Kaelan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kaelan
Compare Kaelan side by side: Kaelan vs Kaeden Kaelan vs Kael Kaelan vs Kaedyn
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kaelan
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kaelan: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1998)
Similar record span (~38 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, 1987–2025 (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 Kaelan 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.