Cal

boys’ nameAt its peak · modern nameCompare

Cal is ranked 670th among boys in 2024 (408 births). Its best rank was 393rd, in 1880.

Rank in 2024: #670up 42 from 2023
Births in 2024: 4080.02% of boys
Peak year: 2024408 births
Best rank: #393in 1880
Since 1880: 7,303people given the name

Babies named Cal, by year of birthboys

The story in the numbers

7,303 boys have been named Cal in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 2024, with 408 births.

It has never been more used than now: its record year is 2024, within the last few years of data.

Half of everyone given the name was born by 2001, and the 2020s alone account for 22%. It has spent 35 of 145 years in the top 1,000.

Rank among boys, year by year

Higher on the chart = more popularrank (gaps = outside the top 1,000)

By decade

Decade	boys named Cal
1880s	104
1890s	87
1900s	59
1910s	176
1920s	249
1930s	215
1940s	309
1950s	538
1960s	458
1970s	288
1980s	333
1990s	689
2000s	903
2010s	1,273
2020s	1,622

In 2024, its biggest year

Cal was the 670th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 2024 were Liam, Noah, Oliver, Theodore and James. See all of 2024.

Names that rose and fell with Cal

Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.

Other spellings in the data

Kal1,195 ever

What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.