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Kalei

#8,603 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

The + lei, wreath; child

Kalei has been given to 2,224 babies in the U.S. since 1980. In 2025 it ranked #8,603 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2003, with 142 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 88% girls, 12% boys all-time.

Babies named Kalei, 2025

1 in 276,000

Kalei over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Kalei over time

In 2025, Kalei went to 52% girls and 48% boys.

19732025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Kalei: meaning, origin, and history

The + lei, wreath; child

Hawaiian

What Kalei means

Kalei means “the + lei, wreath; child”, associated with ka and lei.

Origin, language, and formation

Kalei is used in Hawaiian. Its origins include Hawaiian.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Hawaiian, Kalei is pronounced /kaˈlei̯/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,948 girls were recorded with the name Kalei between 1980 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 142 in 2003; its best national rank was #1,402 in 2003.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #3,712 in 2020 to #8,603 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #4,447 in 2015 to #8,603 in 2025.

In the United States, 276 boys were recorded with the name Kalei between 1973 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 17 in 2022; its best national rank was #4,115 in 1975.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #6,463 in 2020 to #7,416 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #11,390 in 2015 to #7,416 in 2025.

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 Kalei?

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

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 276,000
12 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 134,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#8,603
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
191,493 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Kalei sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

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 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 191,493 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Kalei. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Kaleis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Kalei was born before 2004 — so the typical Kalei is around 21 today.

Median birth year
2004
About 21 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
46.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
68.6%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
1,948
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 46.6% of all recorded uses (907).

Is Kalei 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
−3,386
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−4,891
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−4,156
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.38×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
8.5%
Peak was 2003 (142)
Years since peak
22
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.4% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,402
2003

Spellings of Kalei

Kalei is not the most common spelling — Karen is, with 45.5% against Kalei's 0.09%.

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 Kalei is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Kalei was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 50,000 girls, against 1 in 182,708 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 50,000
  2. 2California1 in 100,000
  3. 3Florida1 in 100,000
  4. 4North Carolina1 in 100,000
  5. 5Texas1 in 100,000
  6. 6Alabama1 in —
  7. 7Georgia1 in —
  8. 8Illinois1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls 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. Kalei has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Kalei is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Kalei was most concentrated in Hawaii — about 1 in 14,286 boys, against 1 in 14,158 across all states with data.

77 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Hawaii1 in 14,286

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. Kalei has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Kalei around the world

Where Kalei 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.

  • Canada
    1997–2003
    #2,346
    in 2003
  • South Australia
    2003–2010
    #801
    in 2010

Popularity data from Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Kalei by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#8,603
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 4,891
Best rank ever
#1,402
2003
Peak year
2003
142 that year
First recorded
1980
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,948
Count in 2025
12

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#7,416
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 953
Best rank ever
#4,115
1975
Peak year
2022
17 that year
First recorded
1973
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
276
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Kalei

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

KalenKallyKaleeKaleaKalayaKalieKalliKaliahKalenaKaliaKalilaKaleiaKaliyaKalynKalynnKalinKalinaKaliseKaleahKaleenaRyleiKalleeKyleiKalista

Sibling names for Kalei

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 Kalei

Top names of 2003, Kalei's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 2003Girls' names starting with K