girl's name
Kaliyah
kuh-LEE-uh
- Origin American
- Gender Girl
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 13,780
the United States
#392
2025 births
Kaliyah is a girl's name of modern American coinage, formed on the pattern of Aaliyah and Amaliyah. It is often given an Arabic meaning through Aaliyah, exalted, though the two are separate names and Kaliyah has no Arabic source of its own.
- Kaliyah is a name of American origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 791 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,191 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1994.
Kaliyah over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 391 |
| 2000s | 3,425 |
| 2010s | 5,473 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,662 |
What Kaliyah means
Kaliyah has no inherited meaning. The beloved and noble readings offered for it are borrowed from Aaliyah and from Kalila, an Arabic name meaning beloved, neither of which Kaliyah descends from.
Where Kaliyah comes from
Kaliyah belongs to a family of late twentieth-century American names built on a shared rhythm — Aaliyah, Amaliyah, Maliyah, Nadiyah — in which the IYAH ending does the work of making a name feel established. Aaliyah is genuinely Arabic, from a root meaning high or exalted, and Kalila is genuinely Arabic, meaning beloved; Kaliyah resembles both without descending from either. Our records show it appearing in 1994 and rising sharply after 2001, alongside every other name in that group, which is the signature of a sound spreading rather than a lineage.
Kaliyah in use
Kaliyah charts in four of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Kaliyah?
In 2025, Kaliyah was given to 791 babies in the United States, ranking #392 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Kaliyah is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Kaliyah is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Ka'liyah | Ka'liyah is Kaliyah written with an apostrophe, recorded mostly in England and Wales. | 3 |
Names that peaked alongside Kaliyah
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kaliyah also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kaliyah over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Kaliyah
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Kaliyah in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Arabic
- Aaliyah
Sibling names for Kaliyah
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kaliyah — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kaliyah
What does the name Kaliyah mean?
It has no inherited meaning. The Arabic readings offered for it belong to Aaliyah and Kalila, which are different names.
Is Kaliyah related to Aaliyah?
By sound rather than descent. Aaliyah is genuinely Arabic; Kaliyah is a modern American formation on the same pattern.
Is Kaliyah related to the goddess Kali?
No. Kali is Sanskrit and unrelated, though the spellings invite the confusion.
How popular is the name Kaliyah?
In 2025, Kaliyah was given to 791 babies in the United States, ranking #392 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Kaliyah a girl's or a boy's name?
Kaliyah is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
When was Kaliyah most popular?
Kaliyah peaked in 2025, when 791 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Kaliyah?
Kaliyah is usually shortened to Kali and Lia.
Is Kaliyah a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kaliyah currently ranks #392 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.