Kalem

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Kalem: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Kalem: Recorded since 1996, its highest recorded position is #272, and it stood at #657 in 2022.

3registrars recorded it
39times a registrar ranked it
27years from first to last
#272highest recorded position
11groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2022

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#633
1997	#513
1998	#644
1999	#750
2000	#817
2001	#814
2002	#1799
2003	#1248
2004	#1410
2005	#1246
2006	#1545
2007	#1252
2008	#1294
2009	#1568
2010	#1109
2011	#1158
2012	#2721
2013	#2403
2014	#2964
2015	#2150
2016	#4023
2017	#4812
2018	#2112
2021	#4789
2022	#4789

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 25 of the 27 years from 1996 to 2022.

In 2022: #657 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #4789 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1996–2022 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #633 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2022
Most recently recorded at #4789 among boys in England and Wales, in 2022.
England and Wales · Boys

Kalem appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 25 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 361 births with the name.

Kalem across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Kalem's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#633 (1996)	#513 (1997)	#4789 (2022)	25 of 27	361 (1996–2022)	36 (1997)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#276 (1996)	#276 (1996)	#657 (2022)	13 of 27	66 (1996–2022)	8 (2004)

Kalem by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Kalem in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	110	4 of 10	28
2000sbusiest	151	10 of 10	15
2010s	94	9 of 10	10
2020s	6	2 of 10	3

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 15 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Kalem appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1996 to 2022. Highest recorded position: #272 in Northern Ireland in 1998.

Kalem's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2022	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#4789	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#2112	10	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#4812	3	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#2150	10	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2964	6	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2403	8	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2721	7	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1158	22	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1109	24	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1568	14	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1294	18	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1252	18	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1545	12	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1246	16	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1410	12	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1248	13	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1799	7	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#814	21	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#817	20	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#750	22	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#644	27	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#513	36	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#633	25	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#272	3	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#657	4	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#491	6	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	6	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	6	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#374	8	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	5	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#448	4	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#299	8	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#500	3	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	3	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#324	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#382	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#276	6	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1996 and 2022, ranked in 25 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #272, first reached in 1998.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 36 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 2 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Kaleigh · #380, 12y
Kalel · #596, 20y
Kalen · #629, 29y
Kaley · #432, 23y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Donovan · #272, 29y
Gethin · #272, 27y
Glyn · #272, 23y
Mathieu · #272, 21y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Allister · #272, 17y
Connaire · #272, 10y
Donovan · #272, 29y
Gethin · #272, 27y

Kalem was ranked #272 in Northern Ireland · Boys in 1998. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Kalem and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Kalem without appearing here.

Kalem moved ahead of

Ashleigh Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1799 and #1651 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #1248 and #1962.
Garry Compare
In 2008 they stood at #472 and #472 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2009 that had become #472 and #701.
Mitchell Compare
In 2007 they stood at #448 and #448 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2008 that had become #472 and #698.
Jon Compare
In 2003 they stood at #390 and #390 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2004 that had become #299 and #506.

Moved ahead of Kalem

Gustav Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2112 and #2259 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #4789 and #2125.
Rodney Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2112 and #3011 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #4789 and #2125.
Rune Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2112 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #4789 and #2125.
Anders Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2112 and #2259 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #4789 and #2301.

Moved the opposite way to Kalem

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 while Albie went from #853 to #29.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Kalem went from #276 to #657 while Alex went from #82 to #24.
Alexander Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Kalem went from #276 to #657 while Alexander went from #83 to #40.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 while Alfie went from #119 to #17.

Moved the same way as Kalem

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 and Aaron from #33 to #135.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 and Adam from #16 to #41.
Adrian Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 and Adrian from #204 to #298.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Kalem went from #633 to #4789 and Alan from #163 to #472.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1996 to 2022. Highest recorded position: #272 in Northern Ireland in 1998. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Kalem

Kalem at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Kalem across 2 official records

Kalem by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Kalem appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Kalem

Kalem and the names beside it

Kalem moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kalem

Moved the opposite way to Kalem

Moved the same way as Kalem

Kalem at a glance

Kalem across 2 official records

Kalem by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Kalem appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Kalem

Kalem and the names beside it

Kalem moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kalem

Moved the opposite way to Kalem

Moved the same way as Kalem