Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Caleb

Say it KAY-lub 2 syllables

Hebrew · “possibly dog”

Common across the UK, three Canadian provinces, New Zealand, and South Australia. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

1 in 162 boys born in Northern Ireland in 2025. Number 36 there.

Caleb in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 8, rare in 18.
Caleb in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales82 (up)20256241 in 436852020
Scotland492025911 in 216492020
Northern Ireland36 (down)2025511 in 162302020
Ireland108 (up)2025521 in 4561322020
North America
Ontario (province)44 (down)2024218about 1 in 275412019
Quebec (province)58 (down)2025112about 1 in 259552020
British Columbia (province)49 (down)202352about 1 in 250332018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025912020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025762020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025862020
South Australia (state)75 (up)202526782020
New Zealand62 (down)202560422020
Western Europe
France372 (up)20251301 in 2,3284562020
Netherlands498 (up)202529about 1 in 2,2945982020
Central Europe
Austria390 (up)2025131 in 2,9283982020
Switzerland577 (down)2025121 in 3,0005502020
Berlin (city)617 (up)20234about 1 in 3,8786762018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list20239802018
Bonn (city)397 (new in the list)20251about 1 in 3,170Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)389 (up)20251about 1 in 2,8764032020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Sweden834 (new in the list)20255about 1 in 8,626Not listed2020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)323 (down)2025111 in 1,8823032020
Italy721 (new in the list)2024121 in 15,780Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
PolandRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

In the Bible, Caleb is one of the spies sent into Canaan, and the name is Hebrew. It is possibly related to the Hebrew keleḇ, 'dog', referring to the devotion of dogs to their masters, so the meaning is given as possibly 'dog'.

2 more paragraphs

It has two syllables, KAY-lub, and a warm, steady sound. Cal is the obvious short form, and related names include Kaleb and Cale.

Caleb is found in the lists for Northern Ireland, Ontario and Scotland. It is rare on the Continent. Canadian records show a peak in the early 2010s, and it is rising in more places than it is falling.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
KAY-lub · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“possibly dog” (hedged in the source)
Origin
Hebrew
Related names
Kaleb, Cal, Cale
Where Caleb comes from (Wiktionary)

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.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Caleb. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Caleb over time

Rising in 4 of the 14 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 2. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 2012.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Caleb in England and Wales: #183 in 1996, a peak of #72 in 2023, and #82 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #183, 177 boys1997: #135, 278 boys1998: #154, 227 boys1999: #161, 213 boys2000: #149, 245 boys2001: #154, 242 boys2002: #173, 216 boys2003: #158, 268 boys2004: #147, 318 boys2005: #131, 388 boys2006: #125, 420 boys2007: #121, 458 boys2008: #109, 539 boys2009: #104, 615 boys2010: #87, 747 boys2011: #89, 709 boys2012: #85, 763 boys2013: #88, 679 boys2014: #93, 648 boys2015: #99, 659 boys2016: #86, 810 boys2017: #77, 853 boys2018: #79, 776 boys2019: #89, 693 boys2020: #85, 665 boys2021: #76, 758 boys2022: #74, 758 boys2023: #72, 718 boys2024: #75, 713 boys2025: #82, 624 boys#183 in 1996peak #72, 2023#82in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
1996183177
1997135278
1998154227
1999161213
2000149245
2001154242
2002173216
2003158268
2004147318
2005131388
2006125420
2007121458
2008109539
2009104615
201087747
201189709
201285763
201388679
201493648
201599659
201686810
201777853
201879776
201989693
202085665
202176758
202274758
202372718
202475713
202582624

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Caleb in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2008. Peak: 2012, about 574 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 0 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 0 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 0 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 0 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 0 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 5.7 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 26.5 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 54.6 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 74.1 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 139 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 265.1 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 479.7 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 495.2 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 520.4 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 479.8 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 423.2 per 100,000 boys20202010-2014: about 1 in 192 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290
1930–19340
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19490
1950–19540
1955–19590
1960–19640
1965–19690
1970–19745.7
1975–197926.5
1980–198454.6
1985–198974.1
1990–1994139
1995–1999265.1
2000–2004479.7
2005–2009495.2
2010–2014520.4
2015–2019479.8
2020–2024423.2

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Caleb

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Caleb, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 164, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 319, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 153, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 290, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 209, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 387, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 753, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 204, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 307, Northern Ireland

All 40 brother names for Caleb

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Caleb's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 50, Ireland

  3. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 130, Scotland

  6. 1 in 62, Poland

  7. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 137, Scotland

Full-name check

Caleb Oliver

Syllables 2-3Initials C.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Caleb

Sisters for Caleb: Abigail, Zara, Hannah, and 5 more
  1. AbigailRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  2. ZaraRose and fell with Caleb · As common as Caleb
  3. HannahRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  4. EdenRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  5. AddisonRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  6. AvaRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  7. GeorgiaRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb
  8. SadieRose and fell with Caleb · Same generation as Caleb

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Caleb

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Caleb's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 18 more places.

  2. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  3. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 14 more places.

  5. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  6. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 18 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  8. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

Famous people named Caleb

Caleb McLaughlin, Caleb Landry Jones, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Caleb

How popular is Caleb in Northern Ireland?

Caleb ranked #36 in Northern Ireland in 2025, given to 51 boys, about 1 in 162.

Is Caleb rising in popularity?

In some places: it is rising in more of them than it is falling. Rising in 4 of the 14 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 2. Rising in: Ireland, France, Austria, and Netherlands.

What does Caleb mean?

Caleb means “possibly dog”, according to Wiktionary. The dictionary itself marks this meaning as uncertain.

How many syllables does Caleb have?

Caleb has 2 syllables: KAY-lub.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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