How popular is the baby name Caleb in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Caleb.

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Popularity of the baby name Caleb


Posts that mention the name Caleb

What gave the baby name Caeleb a boost in 2021?

Olympic swimmer Caeleb Dressel
Caeleb Dressel

The baby name Caleb reached peak usage during the early 2000s.

Years later, in 2021 — amid the decline of Caleb — the usage of the rare spelling variant Caeleb suddenly tripled:

  • 2023: 6 baby boys named Caeleb
  • 2022: 11 baby boys named Caeleb
  • 2021: 15 baby boys named Caeleb
  • 2020: 5 baby boys named Caeleb
  • 2019: 6 baby boys named Caeleb

Why?

I think the uptick corresponds to the success of swimmer Caeleb Dressel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in the summer of 2021 (after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Dressel won a whopping five gold medals in Tokyo. He obtained three of them in individual events (the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, and the 100-meter butterfly) and two more in a pair of 100-meter relays.

As one sports reporter put it, “There will never be another Michael Phelps, but if there’s such a thing as the next-best thing, Caeleb Dressel is absolutely it.”

Dressel has already won one gold medal in Paris. If he continues to do well, do you think he’ll influence U.S. baby names again?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Caeleb Dressel is congratulated by Tripp Cooper after winning 100 fly by JD Lasica under CC BY 2.0.

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2023

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland — which was partitioned from the rest of Ireland more than a century ago — is a constituent country of the United Kingdom (along with England, Scotland, and Wales).

What were the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year? Isla and Noah.

Here are the country’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Isla, 147 baby girls – pronounced IE-la
  2. Fiadh, 138 – pronounced FEE-a
  3. Grace, 137
  4. Emily, 136
  5. Olivia, 126
  6. Lily, 108
  7. Ella, 97
  8. Aoife, 94 – pronounced EE-fa
  9. Amelia, 92
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Charlotte, 87
  12. Annie, 84 (tie)
  13. Sophie, 84 (tie)
  14. Anna, 83
  15. Eabha, 79 – pronounced EY-va
  16. Ellie, 77
  17. Sophia, 76
  18. Evie, 74
  19. Ava, 73
  20. Maisie, 70
  21. Clodagh, 66 – pronounced KLOH-da
  22. Mia, 63 (tie)
  23. Sadie, 63 (tie)
  24. Rosie, 62 (tie)
  25. Ruby, 62 (tie)
  26. Ivy, 60
  27. Molly, 59
  28. Cara, 57 (4-way tie)
  29. Elsie, 57 (4-way tie)
  30. Lottie, 57 (4-way tie)
  31. Meabh, 57 (4-way tie) – pronounced mayv
  32. Zara, 56
  33. Aria, 54
  34. Erin, 53
  35. Ada, 52
  36. Hannah, 51
  37. Saoirse, 50 – pronounced SEER-sha or SAYR-sha
  38. Bonnie, 48
  39. Cora, 47 (4-way tie)
  40. Isabella, 47 (4-way tie)
  41. Lucy, 47 (4-way tie)
  42. Phoebe, 47 (4-way tie)
  43. Katie, 46 (tie)
  44. Niamh, 46 (tie) – pronounced neev or NEE-iv
  45. Rhea, 45 (tie)
  46. Willow, 45 (tie)
  47. Rose, 44
  48. Sofia, 42
  49. Daisy, 41 (tie)
  50. Sienna, 41 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 152 baby boys
  2. Jack, 146
  3. James, 131
  4. Cillian, 128 – pronounced KIL-ee-an
  5. Charlie, 123
  6. Leo, 119
  7. Oisin, 116 – pronounced UH-sheen or OH-sheen
  8. Oliver, 114
  9. Luca, 108 (tie)
  10. Theo, 108 (tie)
  11. Tommy, 105
  12. Thomas, 103
  13. Jude, 93
  14. Arthur, 91
  15. Alfie, 85
  16. Daniel, 84
  17. Daithi, 82 – pronounced DAH-hee
  18. Harry, 77
  19. Ethan, 74
  20. Caleb, 73
  21. Finn, 71
  22. Henry, 70
  23. Ezra, 67 (tie)
  24. Jacob, 67 (tie)
  25. George, 66 (tie)
  26. Oscar, 66 (tie)
  27. Archie, 64 (3-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 64 (3-way tie)
  29. Ollie, 64 (3-way tie)
  30. Ronan, 63
  31. Lorcan, 62
  32. Reuben, 61 (tie)
  33. Shea, 61 (tie)
  34. Fionn, 60 (tie)
  35. Rory, 60 (tie)
  36. Darragh, 59
  37. Rian, 57
  38. Conor, 55 (tie)
  39. Freddie, 55 (tie)
  40. Arlo, 53 (tie)
  41. Patrick, 53 (tie)
  42. Luke, 52 (tie)
  43. Tom, 52 (tie)
  44. Jonah, 51 (tie)
  45. Odhran, 51 (tie) – pronounced OH-rawn
  46. Joshua, 50
  47. Max, 49 (tie)
  48. Theodore, 49 (tie)
  49. Michael, 47
  50. Mason, 46 (tie)
  51. Teddy, 46 (tie)

The names that qualified as the “top climbers” of 2023 were…

  • Rebecca, Rhea, Aurora, and Raya (for girls), and
  • Leon, Donnacha, Albie, and Seth (for boys).

And here’s a selection of uncommon names that were given to just three babies each:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aizal, Blathnaid, Colleen, Dianaimh, Everly, Georgina, Helen, Ivie, Juniper, Keeley, Laney, Meabha, Neala, Orlagh, Paisley, Searlaith, Tillie, Vera, YasmineAngus, Barney, Connlan, Darren, Ewan, Finbarr, Gearoid, Hamish, Jameson, Kieran, Lughan, Milan, Ned, Orhan, Paraic, Ruaidhri, Scott, Tate, Zayn

What about middle names? The top picks for the middle spot were…

  • Rose, Grace, Mary, Elizabeth, and Marie (for girls), and
  • James, John, Patrick, William, and Thomas (for boys).

Finally, here are Northern Ireland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Source: Baby Names 2023 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2023

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

Alberta — Canada’s westernmost prairie province — welcomed 47,263 babies last year.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah, yet again.

Here are Alberta’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 210 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 145
  3. Sophia, 138
  4. Charlotte, 135
  5. Emma, 133
  6. Isla, 120
  7. Evelyn, 114
  8. Chloe, 101 (tie)
  9. Violet, 101 (tie)
  10. Ava, 99 (tie)
  11. Emily, 99 (tie)
  12. Hannah, 98 (tie)
  13. Hazel, 98 (tie)
  14. Abigail, 95
  15. Lily, 92
  16. Ella, 91 (tie)
  17. Harper, 91 (tie)
  18. Aurora, 90
  19. Grace, 88
  20. Aria, 87
  21. Mia, 86 (tie)
  22. Nora, 86 (tie)
  23. Ivy, 85
  24. Sophie, 84
  25. Mila, 82
  26. Ellie, 81
  27. Isabella, 79
  28. Eleanor, 78 (tie)
  29. Elizabeth, 78 (tie)
  30. Avery, 73
  31. Georgia, 71 (tie)
  32. Sofia, 71 (tie)
  33. Maya, 67
  34. Naomi, 66
  35. Lucy, 65
  36. Scarlett, 64
  37. Maeve, 62 (3-way tie)
  38. Quinn, 62 (3-way tie)
  39. Sadie, 62 (3-way tie)
  40. Luna, 60
  41. Kinsley, 57 (4-way tie)
  42. Layla, 57 (4-way tie)
  43. Stella, 57 (4-way tie)
  44. Zoey, 57 (4-way tie)
  45. Hailey, 56
  46. Zoe, 55
  47. Paisley, 54 (tie)
  48. Penelope, 54 (tie)
  49. Alice, 53 (6-way tie)
  50. Amira, 53 (6-way tie)
  51. Audrey, 53 (6-way tie)
  52. Eliana, 53 (6-way tie)
  53. Eva, 53 (6-way tie)
  54. Wren, 53 (6-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 276 baby boys
  2. Liam, 181
  3. Oliver, 178
  4. Theodore, 173
  5. Jack, 153
  6. Henry, 146
  7. Lucas, 140
  8. Benjamin, 137
  9. James, 136
  10. William, 133
  11. Ethan, 131
  12. Owen, 129
  13. Adam, 123
  14. Levi, 117
  15. Bennett, 114 (tie)
  16. Leo, 114 (tie)
  17. Daniel, 111
  18. Maverick, 107
  19. Elijah, 106
  20. Muhammad, 100
  21. Asher, 96
  22. Hudson, 95
  23. Alexander, 94 (tie)
  24. Thomas, 94 (tie)
  25. Nathan, 92
  26. Beau, 90
  27. Jackson, 89
  28. Grayson, 87 (3-way tie)
  29. Luke, 87 (3-way tie)
  30. Wyatt, 87 (3-way tie)
  31. Caleb, 83
  32. Elias, 80
  33. Jacob, 79
  34. Ezra, 78 (3-way tie)
  35. Logan, 78 (3-way tie)
  36. Rowan, 78 (3-way tie)
  37. David, 77 (3-way tie)
  38. Myles, 77 (3-way tie)
  39. Theo, 77 (3-way tie)
  40. Lincoln, 76 (tie)
  41. Luca, 76 (tie)
  42. Isaac, 74 (tie)
  43. Wesley, 74 (tie)
  44. Carter, 73
  45. Arthur, 72 (tie)
  46. Gabriel, 72 (tie)
  47. Michael, 71 (tie)
  48. Samuel, 71 (tie)
  49. Aiden, 70 (tie)
  50. Joseph, 70 (tie)

Thousands of other names were given to a single baby each in Alberta last year. Here’s a small selection of those single-use names:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Adonica, Birille, Curly-Anne, Dalanda, Eleojo, Flaxee, Garance, Hailstorm-Leone, Ianah, Jina, Kimowan, Liala, Mihkokwaniy, Mulberry, Nîpsîy, Ozya, Parfaite, Pinkbella, Prism-Rose, Quenzy, Rhya, Simdi, Toriola, Uzira, Vhea, Wapakwaniy, Xeya, Yovela, ZhilaAuxter, Baffin, Chancel, Dezio, Edbert, Firekeeper, Graysky, Hashké, Iron, Jandro, Kalahari, Kisâkihitin, Kittiwake, Ludacris, Mardochée, Mîtos, Nightsong, Omâciw, Pelvin, Qudus, Rastko, Stoic, Tazler, Uros, Vyron, Wynn-Fortune, Xyno, York, Zaffarjot

Some possible explanations and/or influences for a few of the above:

  • Baffin is both an island and a bay in Canada. (Both were named after English explorer William Baffin.)
  • Hashké means “warrior” in Navajo.
  • Kalahari is a desert in Southern Africa.
  • Kimowan means “it is raining” in Cree.
    • The related name Kimiwan, meaning “rain,” was given to 2 baby girls.
  • Kisâkihitin means “I love you” (or, “you are loved by me”) in Cree.
  • Kittiwake refers to a type of seagull.
  • Ludacris is the stage name of American rapper Christopher Bridges.
    • I hope this baby’s family caught Ludacris in Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year!
  • Mihkokwaniy means “rose” in Cree.
  • Mîtos means “poplar [tree]” in Cree.
  • Nîpsîy means “willow” in Cree.
  • Omâciw means “moose hunter” or “big game hunter” in Cree.
  • Parfaite means “perfect” in French.
  • Wapakwaniy is one letter away from wapikwaniy, the Cree word for “flower.”

Finally, here’s a link to Alberta’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Alberta’s top baby names – Alberta.ca, Alberta’s baby name superstar steals the show again – Alberta.ca, Online Cree Dictionary, You always come first with me: kisâkihitin and “Order of Persons” in Cree – Cree Literacy Network

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Popular baby names in Puerto Rico, 2023

Flag of Puerto Rico
Flag of Puerto Rico

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico welcomes roughly 19,000 babies per year.

Last year, the most popular baby names in Puerto Rico were Valentina and Thiago.

Here are Puerto Rico’s top 50 girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Valentina, 177 baby girls
  2. Aurora, 113 (tie)
  3. Emma, 113 (tie)
  4. Victoria, 100
  5. Catalina, 94 (tie)
  6. Luna, 94 (tie)
  7. Amaia, 89 (tie)
  8. Gianna, 89 (tie)
  9. Isabella, 88
  10. Alaia, 82
  11. Mia, 80
  12. Mikaela, 78
  13. Ainara, 75 (tie)
  14. Amira, 75 (tie)
  15. Milena, 70
  16. Amalia, 68
  17. Amanda, 66
  18. Antonella, 65
  19. Camila, 62
  20. Amelia, 61
  21. Elena, 57 (tie)
  22. Leah, 57 (tie)
  23. Paula, 56
  24. Sofia, 54
  25. Kamila, 50
  26. Gia, 47
  27. Stella, 42
  28. Mila, 41
  29. Ainhoa, 40
  30. Sophia, 39
  31. Adara, 38
  32. Lia, 36
  33. Alana, 35
  34. Amirah, 32 (4-way tie)
  35. Nahia, 32 (4-way tie)
  36. Nahiara, 32 (4-way tie)
  37. Valeria, 32 (4-way tie)
  38. Andrea, 31
  39. Paulette, 30
  40. Alanna, 29 (tie)
  41. Brianna, 29 (tie)
  42. Adhara, 28 (4-way tie)
  43. Amahia, 28 (4-way tie)
  44. Ana, 28 (4-way tie)
  45. Gabriela, 28 (4-way tie)
  46. Paulina, 27
  47. Amaya, 25 (4-way tie)
  48. Arlet, 25 (4-way tie)
  49. Katalina, 25 (4-way tie)
  50. Mariana, 25 (4-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Thiago, 290 baby boys
  2. Liam, 264
  3. Noah, 201
  4. Mateo, 156
  5. Sebastian, 146
  6. Lucas, 140
  7. Dylan, 119
  8. Ian, 115
  9. Matias, 94
  10. Adrian, 89 (tie)
  11. Elian, 89 (tie)
  12. Jayden, 84
  13. Mauro, 79
  14. Angel, 77
  15. Milan, 76
  16. Ethan, 74
  17. Nicolas, 70
  18. Jacob, 67
  19. Fabian, 66
  20. Diego, 65
  21. Elias, 63
  22. Gael, 59
  23. Aaron, 56
  24. Isaac, 51
  25. Eithan, 50 (tie)
  26. Eliam, 50 (tie)
  27. Gian, 49
  28. Enzo, 48
  29. Evan, 45 (tie)
  30. Luis, 45 (tie)
  31. Isaias, 44 (tie)
  32. Matteo, 44 (tie)
  33. Daniel, 42
  34. Julian, 40
  35. Caleb, 37
  36. Eiden, 36 (3-way tie)
  37. Gabriel, 36 (3-way tie)
  38. Matthew, 36 (3-way tie)
  39. Carlos, 34 (tie)
  40. Santiago, 34 (tie)
  41. Aiden, 33 (3-way tie)
  42. Damian, 33 (3-way tie)
  43. Dario, 33 (3-way tie)
  44. Alejandro, 32 (tie)
  45. Amir, 32 (tie)
  46. Alan, 30
  47. Alvaro, 29 (3-way tie)
  48. Keyden, 29 (3-way tie)
  49. Ryan, 29 (3-way tie)
  50. Iker, 28 (3-way tie)
  51. Jose, 28 (3-way tie)
  52. Zaid, 28 (3-way tie)

Eiden on the boys’ list caught my attention, as Eiden was also mentioned in the SSA’s news release this year. It’s on the rise both in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico right now.

The person who wrote the news release theorized that the rise of Eiden was being fueled by Wisconsin-based influencer Wyatt Eiden. But the name’s increasing popularity in Puerto Rico — plus the fact that 40% of Eiden’s U.S. usage occurred in four states with large Spanish-speaking populations (TX, CA, NY, and FL) — makes me think the name is being used primarily among U.S.-based Latin Americans (who are probably not watching Wyatt Eiden’s English-language interview/trivia videos on TikTok).

(And now I’m thinking of a recent comment by alex, who noticed that “names that have seen some use in Caribbean Latin America for 20+ years” are starting to pop up in the U.S. data, and wondered if Venezuelan immigration might have something to do with it…)

In 2022, the top names in Puerto Rico were Valentina and Liam.

Finally, what were the most popular baby names in all the other U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands) combined last year? Olivia and Elijah.

Sources: Popular Names by Territory – SSA, State and Territorial Data – National Center for Health Statistics – CDC

Image: Adapted from Flag of Puerto Rico (public domain)