Unisex name · since 1998

Kalai

Since 1998, U.S. Social Security records show 246 babies named Kalai, peaking in 2025. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#11,767 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#5,139 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
246
born since 1998
2000s
peak decade

Kalai currently ranks #5139 among unisex names in America, with 246 babies recorded since 1998.

Social Security Administration records show Kalai recorded 246 times among boys since 1998, holding rank #5139 nationally today, ahead of 63% of boys, peaking in the 2000s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1998 to 2025.

  • #11,767 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #5,139 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 246 born since 1998
  • 2000s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kalai ranks #11,767 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,139 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 246 born since 1998, peaking in the 2000s.

#11,767 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#5,139 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
246
born since 1998
2000s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%63.1%
Kalai vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Below the archive median
All-time archive position

Kalai's 246 recorded births place it above 74.1% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

1 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

The state file records this name in 1 jurisdictions, led by Hawaii.

How Kalai compares

246 42nd percentile among 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

Kalai's all-time total is 33% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Kalai Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 246 369 358,536
Peak-year births 19 34 22,252

Kalai's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Kalai splits its recorded history at 2011: 54% of all births land in the more recent half, 46% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 2023 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2025 peak of 19 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Kalai popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1998–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2025)
19
Annual births at peak, across 28 years of records
05101520 1998200320072011201620202025 19

Kalai popularity over time - girls

72 total births recorded since 1991 (Kalai as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 72 births
4681012 19911996200020012009201520192020202120222025 5

Kalai by decade

2000s is the heaviest window (100 births, 41% of the file).

2000s was Kalai's strongest decade.

100 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 41% of all-time use.

Kalai births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2000s at 100 births (41% of all-time use).

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

Kalai by state

Where Kalai concentrates geographically, total births since 1998

Regionally concentrated
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Kalai
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Hawaii
91 37.0%
Hawaii share of Kalai's total US births 37.0%

91 of 246 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Kalai?
246 babies have been named Kalai since 1998. All-time, it sits at #11,767 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #5,139 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 2025 with 19 births.
Where does Kalai sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kalai ranks #11,767 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,139 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 Kalai most popular?
Kalai was most popular in the 2000s decade with 100 total births. The single peak year was 2025.
Where is Kalai most popular?
The top states for the name Kalai are Hawaii (91 births).
Is Kalai a unisex name?
Yes, Kalai is used for both boys and girls. As a boy's name it has 246 births, and as a girl's name it has 72 births.
How long has the name Kalai been used?
Records for Kalai go back to 1998, giving 28 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Kalai?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Kaleb, Kale, Kalvin, Kalen, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Kalai's data

  • Kalai's usage has stayed within range of its 2000s decade-level peak (100 total births) through the 2020s (56) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • Hawaii records the most Kalais (91 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Hawaii names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Kalai

Nearby Names Like Kalai

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

Names with a similar popularity rank to Kalai

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Kalai: 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, 1998–2025 (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 Kalai 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.