# Caleb (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/caleb/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “dog” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkeɪ.ləb/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Kaleb |
| US babies named this | 325,003 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 324,350 / 653 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 16,177, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Late Latin Caleb, Calebus, from Koine Greek Χάλεβ (Kháleb), from Biblical Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), possibly related to כֶּלֶב (keleḇ, “dog”), referring to the unconditional devotion of dogs to their masters.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18 | 6,969 |
| 2011 | 9 | 11,352 |
| 2012 | 15 | 7,891 |
| 2013 | 16 | 7,457 |
| 2014 | 14 | 8,139 |
| 2015 | 11 | 9,598 |
| 2016 | 9 | 11,050 |
| 2017 | 10 | 10,107 |
| 2018 | 5 | 16,143 |
| 2019 | 13 | 8,223 |
| 2020 | 6 | 13,773 |
| 2021 | 9 | 10,448 |
| 2022 | 12 | 8,632 |
| 2023 | 8 | 11,371 |
| 2024 | 9 | 10,431 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10,040 | 32 |
| 2012 | 9,977 | 32 |
| 2013 | 9,612 | 32 |
| 2014 | 9,245 | 35 |
| 2015 | 8,826 | 37 |
| 2016 | 7,982 | 44 |
| 2017 | 7,154 | 50 |
| 2018 | 6,997 | 45 |
| 2019 | 6,416 | 51 |
| 2020 | 5,616 | 56 |
| 2021 | 5,964 | 51 |
| 2022 | 5,778 | 52 |
| 2023 | 5,533 | 51 |
| 2024 | 5,795 | 49 |
| 2025 | 5,217 | 58 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 709 | 89 |
| 2012 | 763 | 85 |
| 2013 | 679 | 88 |
| 2014 | 648 | 93 |
| 2015 | 659 | 99 |
| 2016 | 810 | 86 |
| 2017 | 853 | 77 |
| 2018 | 776 | 79 |
| 2019 | 693 | 89 |
| 2020 | 665 | 85 |
| 2021 | 758 | 76 |
| 2022 | 758 | 74 |
| 2023 | 718 | 72 |
| 2024 | 713 | 75 |
| 2025 | 624 | 82 |

## People named Caleb

- Caleb Landry Jones, American actor
- Caleb Ewan, Australian road and track bicycle racer
- Charles Caleb Colton, British priest and writer
- George Caleb Bingham, American artist (1811–1879)
- Caleb Bradham, American pharmacist, inventor of Pepsi-Cola
- Caleb Deschanel, American cinematographer and director of film and television
- Caleb Cushing, American politician (1800-1879)
- Caleb Wiley, American soccer player
- Caleb Carr, American novelist, screenwriter and military historian (1955–2024)
- Caleb Porter, American soccer player-coach
- Caleb Swanigan, American basketball player (1997–2022)
- Caleb Martin, American basketball player (born 1995)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.