Kali is a girl name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Kali means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Kali across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Kali has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Kali is a girl name of Sanskrit origin meaning “the dark one, or black”. From the Hindu goddess Kali, also a Greek element for beautiful.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 33,438 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 614 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 223 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 22 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 107 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Kali per year, United States (1957 to 2025). United States peaked in 2019 (1,353/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2020 (51/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2021 (16/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2019 (12/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2021 (8/yr).
Kali has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 2019, when it ranked #509 nationally (given to 1,417 babies that year).
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