Given name & surname
Kaleb
“resembling an aggressive dog”
Kaleb is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “resembling an aggressive dog.”
Original Hebrewכלב
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “resembling an aggressive dog.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
In English usage, Kaleb developed from כלב.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Kaleb has a related form in Caleb. The history of Caleb gives this family its wider story. Caleb appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Kaleb through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 86,851
- 86,649 boys · 202 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 3,829 babies
- 2025
- 1,143
- #295 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −34%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,143 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 295 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 34.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,819 in 2007. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (154). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 68,291 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kaleb’s family of names
In English usage, Kaleb developed from the Hebrew form כלב. In English usage, Kaleb has a related form in Caleb. In German usage, Kaleb has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Caleb.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kaleb has relatives in 13 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
Hebrewwhere Kaleb comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Calebvariant · English, Spanish
- Kaylebvariant
- Kalobvariant
- Kailebvariant
- Kalleblikely variant
- Kaylobvariant
- Kaelobvariant
- Kailobvariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- כלבroot · Hebrew
- KalevTurkish
- KalibAzerbaijani
- CalebePortuguese
- KálebCzech
- KalebuSwahili
- КалебRussian
- ХалевRussian
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People named Kaleb
- Kaleb of Axumking of Aksum from 514 to 542450–540
- Kaleb TarczewskiAmerican basketball player (born 1993)
- Kaleb CanalesAmerican basketball coachborn 1978
- Kaleb McGaryAmerican football playerborn 1995
- Kaleb WessonAmerican basketball player (born 1999)
- Kaleb KonleyAmerican Professional Wrestlerborn 1983
- IsahNorwegian hip hop artistborn 1999
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kaleb, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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