Kalil
Kalil was the 5309th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 18 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 1791st with 61 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 837 places. More babies were named Kalil in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Khalil) friend · Arabic
- Rank in 2025
- #5,309 boys, down 1,227 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 18boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 200061 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,325babies recorded
What does the name Kalil mean?
Kalil is a spelling of Khalil, pronounced the same way, so it shares Khalil's meaning and origin.
Khalil is an Arabic name meaning "friend", from khalīl, "close friend". It recalls the Islamic title of Abraham, Khalil Allah, "friend of God", based on the Quran's statement that God took Abraham as a khalīl (4:125), which also gives Hebron its Arabic name, al-Khalil. It is used across the Muslim world and among African American families; the poet Kahlil Gibran used a variant spelling.
خَلِيل (Arabic, “friend, close companion”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Kahlil, Khalilah.
See also: Arabic names, names that mean love.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Khalil', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Qur'an 4:125, Arabic text with word-by-word translation (quran.com), Quran.com
Kalil popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,309 | 18 |
| 2020 | #4,082 | 25 |
| 2010 | #3,110 | 37 |
| 2000 | #1,791 | 61 |
| 1990 | #3,872 | 15 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kalil, counting every spelling?
Kalil is a spelling of Khalil, a name family that ranked #383 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #5,309 for Kalil on its own. Together these spellings went to 862 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khalil | 826 | #384 | 4,878 |
| Kalil | 18 | #5,309 | 102 |
| Kaleel | 13 | #6,637 | 50 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kalil?
18 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kalil (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Kalil born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 465 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kalil.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kalil?
About 1,300 people born in the US named Kalil are alive today, with a median age of 21; half are between 14 and 27. That makes Kalil mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kalil: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kalil, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Kalil
What does Kalil mean?
Kalil is a spelling of Khalil, which means “friend” (Arabic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Kalil?
Kalil was the 5309th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 18 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 1791st with 61 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 837 places. More babies were named Kalil in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Kalil a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Kalil in the US.