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Cael

#1,945 in 2025Boys' name

Narrows, through Kyle

Cael has been given to 3,745 babies in the U.S. since 1989. In 2025 it ranked #1,945 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2011, with 272 recorded.

Babies named Cael, 2025

1 in 42,000

Cael over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Cael: meaning, origin, and history

Narrows, through Kyle

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Cael means

Cael belongs to the name family reached through Cael → Kyle. Its meaning is “narrows”.

Origin, language, and formation

Cael is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Kyle.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,732 boys were recorded with the name Cael between 1989 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 272 in 2011; its best national rank was #777 in 2002.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,514 in 2020 to #1,945 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,248 in 2015 to #1,945 in 2025.

In the United States, 13 girls were recorded with the name Cael between 2007 and 2010. Its highest annual count was 8 in 2007; its best national rank was #12,881 in 2007.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Cael?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 42,000
79 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 21,600
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,945
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
29,088 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Cael sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 29,088 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Cael. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Caels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Cael was born before 2009 — so the typical Cael is around 16 today.

Median birth year
2009
About 16 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
49.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
97.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,732
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 49.0% of all recorded uses (1,828).

Is Cael rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+404
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+569
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−697
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.54×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
29.0%
Peak was 2011 (272)
Years since peak
14
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#777
2002

Spellings of Cael

Cael is not the most common spelling — Paul is, with 36.3% against Cael's 0.10%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Cael is used

Across 1910–2025, Cael was most concentrated in Iowa — about 1 in 4,167 boys, against 1 in 60,044 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in —).

024 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Iowa1 in 4,167
  2. 2Utah1 in 11,111
  3. 3Nebraska1 in 14,286
  4. 4Colorado1 in 33,333
  5. 5Idaho1 in 33,333
  6. 6Kansas1 in 33,333
  7. 7Minnesota1 in 33,333
  8. 8Washington1 in 33,333

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Cael has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Cael around the world

Where Cael ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1997–2025
    #4,275
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2001–2015
    #686
    in 2015
  • Northern Ireland
    2011–2025
    #395
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    2001–2016
    #601
    in 2016
  • France
    2006–2025
    #2,750
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1992–2024
    #2,134
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1997–2011
    #784
    in 2011

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Cael by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,945
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 569
Best rank ever
#777
2002
Peak year
2011
272 that year
First recorded
1989
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,732
Count in 2025
79

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#12,881
2007
Peak year
2007
8 that year
First recorded
2007
Last recorded
2010
All-time count
13
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Cael

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

KaelJaelYaelCaesarCaelanCaedenAzaelIsaelNaelMaelLaelIzaelAsaelCaelumAzraelZaelDaelMikaelWaelRaelCaelenCaedmonSaelAdael

Names with a curve like Cael

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Cael, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ArnavJaidynKadynJaydanAedanJaydinDamarionGavynKaedenDemarionKyanJaedyn

Sibling names for Cael

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Cael

Top names of 2011, Cael's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2002Boys' names starting with CEthereal Boy Names