Caliph
A caliphate is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph, a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (ummah). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.
Meaning & Origin of Caliph
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
A caliphate is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph, a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Muslim world (ummah). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Etymology
The Story of Caliph
Caliph first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1972, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1974: 13 births, good for #2,799 nationwide. About 27% of every Caliph on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Caliph last appeared in the published SSA data in 2019, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 202 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Caliph
Phonetically similar names — useful when Caliph is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Caliph
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About the name Caliph
Caliph is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1972 and has accumulated 202 births in the dataset. Caliph's peak popularity came in 1974 when it ranked #2,799. Use the chart and map above to compare Caliph's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1974 →
- Names of the 1970s →
- Names starting with "C" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.