ninan.org

Kali

Girls' name · Current · Sanskrit origin

Living in the US
~33,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#323 among girls
Births in 2025
972 33,438 since 1880
Typical age
15 years, median

Kali popularity over time

Kali rank by birth year, 1957–2025Kali ranked #5,377 in 1957 and #323 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #241, in 2019.#1,000#3231960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1957–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Kali was used most in 2019, when 1,353 babies were given the name. It first clears the SSA reporting threshold in 1957. It reaches the top 1,000 in 44 years of the record.

The 2025 position is #323, on 972 births. Compared with 2015, births are down 20%. It slipped 28 places against the previous year.

Babies named Kali per yearPeaks at 1,353 births in 2019.1,353 in 201901960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Kali?

About 33,100 people named Kali are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 33,438 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Kali?

Median age among living Kalis: 15. More of them were born in the 2010s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Kali a current name.

Your Kali

Ages of living people named KaliHalf of living Kalis are older than 15 and half younger.median 150204060
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Kali is most common

Relative to births, Mississippi carries 3.5× the national share of Kalis. Louisiana, Delaware and South Carolina follow.

Where Kali is used more than average5 states use the name Kali more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 2.9× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: 2.8× the national rateSCDistrict of Columbia: 2.5× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 3.0× the national rateLAMississippi: 3.5× the national rateMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Kali is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Mississippi 261 3.5×
Louisiana 412 3.0×
Delaware 54 2.9×
South Carolina 367 2.8×
District of Columbia 53 2.5×

Kali in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Kali ranked #1,229 in 2025 on 26 births. That is 49% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Kali comes from

From Sanskrit काली or कालिका.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

See how Sanskrit names are used in American and British births on the Sanskrit names page.

Notable people named Kali

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Kali Rocha American actress 1971 25
Kali Reis American boxer and actress 1986 14
Kali Hawk American actress 1986 11
Kali Christ speed skater 1991 11
Kali Flanagan American ice hockey player 1995 11
Photo credits (5)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Names similar to Kali

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Same feel, less common

The same matches, limited to names given at most half as often as Kali was in 2025.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/kali.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).