Girl · #9,790 in 2026

Kalee

Name: Popularity of the name Kalee in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Kalee, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Kali, also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death, and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held as the most famous.

Current Rank

#9,790

Peak Rank

#1,034 (1999)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

-64%

1962

First Year

2026

Last Year

1999

Peak Year

#1034

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Kalee

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Etymology

The term Kali is derived from Kala , which is mentioned quite differently in Sanskrit. The homonym kālá (time) is distinct from kāla (black), but these became associated through popular etymology . Kali is then understood as "she who is the ruler of time", or "she who is black". Kālī is the goddess of time or death and the consort of Shiva. She is called Kali Mata ("the dark mother") and also kālī , which can be read here either as a proper name or as a description: "the dark (or black) one".

Origin & history

Although the word Kālī appears as early as the Atharva Veda , the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). Kali originated as a tantric and non-Vedic goddess. Her roots are most probably connected to the Pre-Aryan period. According to Indologist Wendy Doniger , Kali's origins can be traced to the deities of the Pre-Vedic village, tribal, and mountain cultures of South Asia who were gradually appropriated and transformed by the Sanskritic traditions.

The Story of Kalee

Kalee first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1962, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1999, when 189 Kalees were born — ranking #1,066 that year. As of 2026, Kalee ranks #9,790 for baby girls with 6 births, falling sharply (-64%). In total, more than 4K Kalees have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1960s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Kalee

Phonetically similar names — useful when Kalee 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 Kalee

What does the name Kalee mean?

How popular is Kalee in 2026?

In 2026, Kalee ranks #9,790 among girls' names in the U.S., with 6 babies given the name that year.

When was Kalee most popular?

Kalee reached its peak popularity in 1999, ranking #1,034 that year with 189 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Kalee most popular?

Kalee has historically been most popular in West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Kalee.

Is Kalee a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Kalee is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Kalee?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Kalee include Adelaida, Tequila, Tarrah. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Kalee

Kalee is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1962 and has accumulated 4K births in the dataset. Kalee's peak popularity came in 1999 when it ranked #1,034. Use the chart and map above to compare Kalee's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

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.