Girls' name · since 1998
Kalayah
Since 1998, U.S. Social Security records show 1,442 babies named Kalayah, peaking in 2024. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #5,847 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,620 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,442
- born since 1998
- 2020s
- peak decade
1,442 babies have been named Kalayah since 1998, making it today's #1620 girls' name.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kalayah has been recorded 1,442 times among girls since 1998, currently ranked #1620 nationally and more common than 91% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 2020s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1998 to 2025.
- #5,847 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,620 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,442 born since 1998
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Kalayah ranks #5,847 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,620 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,442 born since 1998, peaking in the 2020s.
- #5,847 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,620 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,442
- born since 1998
- 2020s
- peak decade
Kalayah's 1,442 recorded births place it above 91.91% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
17 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Kalayah compares
1,442 Top 27% higher than 73% 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
Kalayah's all-time total is 4x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Kalayah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,442 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 140 | 21 | 19,840 |
Kalayah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Kalayah's full recorded timeline at 2013, 79% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 21% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1998, with just 7 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2024 peak of 140 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Kalayah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1998–2025
- Peak year (2024)
- 140
- Annual births at peak, across 28 years of records
Kalayah by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (724 births, 50% of the file).
2020s was Kalayah's strongest decade.
724 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 50% of all-time use.
Kalayah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1990s 7
1990s
7 births
- 2000s 184
2000s
184 births
- 2010s
2010s
527 births
- 2020s
2020s
724 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 724 births (50% of all-time use).
How Kalayah 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 Kalayah's total volume
Kalayah by state
Where Kalayah concentrates geographically, total births since 1998
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 136 | 9.4% |
| #2 | Texas | | 72 | 5.0% |
| #3 | Florida | | 59 | 4.1% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 58 | 4.0% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 51 | 3.5% |
| #6 | Georgia | | 44 | 3.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 38 | 2.6% |
| #8 | South Carolina | | 18 | 1.2% |
136 of 1,442 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 17 reporting states.
Kalayah appears in 17 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Kalayah's data
- California records the most Kalayahs (136 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 Kalayah
Nearby Names Like Kalayah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Kalayah
Compare Kalayah side by side: Kalayah vs Kali Kalayah vs Kaleigh Kalayah vs Kaley
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Kalayah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Kalayah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2024)
Similar record span (~27 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, 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 Kalayah 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.