Kale

Last seen for girls in 2013 at #16,547 · #7,194 for boys in 2025, 11 births
Given to boys 97.0% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
2008 · 544 births
Debut · boys
6 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
7,379
since 1917

Kale over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Kale has never cracked the top 500 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201998peak #504, 2008boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#7,19411
2024—#5,24118
2023—#6,51713
2022—#4,44223
2021—#3,81428
2020—#4,02025
2019—#4,00326
2018—#2,67446
2017—#2,17062
2016—#1,605101
2015—#1,096177
2014—#970216
2013#16,5475#829259
2012#9,71111#721325
2011#16,7645#590424
2010#8,70113#590423
2009#8,05815#516521
2008#5,95523#504544
2007#7,09218#635382
2006#5,70923#767272
2005#10,12810#754264
2004—#802225
2003#15,7845#905184
2002—#901179
2001#13,5216#973158
2000#13,1546#986150
1999#12,6886#1,063128
1998#14,1225#999137
1997#10,8367#1,169103
1996—#1,20693
1995—#1,19494
1994—#1,078107
1993#9,5598#1,060109
1992#11,7386#1,097100
1991—#1,15591
1990#9,2478#1,021108
1989#10,8476#1,09493
1988#10,3866#916108
1987#9,8256#858119
1986—#1,01583
1985#7,5638#95092
1984#9,1446#1,12365
1983#6,7059#1,32749
1982—#1,48742
1981—#1,29451
1980—#1,44943
1979#10,2105#1,57037
1978—#1,39344
1977—#1,54636
1976—#1,64632
1975—#1,47836
1974—#1,61830
1973—#1,51432
1972—#2,02020
1971—#1,70527
1970—#1,61528
1969—#2,13016
1968—#2,03016
1967—#2,24213
1966—#2,7849
1965—#3,2447
1964—#2,8549
1963—#2,20014
1962—#2,03516
1961—#3,0978
1960—#2,8719
1959—#3,9885
1958—#3,2757
1957—#3,2577
1956—#2,36112
1955——
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1953—#3,7985
1952—#3,7345
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1937—#3,5185
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1925—#2,58811
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1917—#3,5456
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First appearance
1917

The first year at least five boys were named Kale! It came in at #3,545, and was given to 6 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1918–1924, when fewer than 5 boys a year got the name.

Where Kale is popular in 1998

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNHWashington: #688 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 6,889 boysWAIdaho: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedIDMontana: #198 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 800 boysMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNDMinnesota: #452 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 4,751 boysMNIllinois: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedILWisconsin: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedWIMichigan: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedMINew York: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedIAIndiana: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedINOhio: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedOHPennsylvania: #715 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 9,531 boysPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedCTCalifornia: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedCAUtah: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedUTColorado: #384 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 2,618 boysCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNEMissouri: #431 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 3,848 boysMOKentucky: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedWVVirginia: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedVAMaryland: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedDEArizona: #654 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 6,969 boysAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNMKansas: #257 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 1,434 boysKSArkansas: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedARTennessee: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedTNNorth Carolina: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedNCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedDCOklahoma: #295 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 1,721 boysOKLouisiana: #702 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 5,447 boysLAMississippi: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedMSAlabama: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedALGeorgia: #865 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 8,597 boysGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedHITexas: #1,031 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 14,601 boysTXFlorida: fewer than 5 boys named Kale, so not publishedFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Montana#198 · 1 in 800
  2. Kansas#257 · 1 in 1,434
  3. Oklahoma#295 · 1 in 1,721
  4. Colorado#384 · 1 in 2,618
  5. Missouri#431 · 1 in 3,848

Best ever in a state: #109 in Montana, 2008.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Montana#19851 in 800
Kansas#257111 in 1,434
Oklahoma#295121 in 1,721
Colorado#384101 in 2,618
Missouri#43191 in 3,848
Minnesota#45261 in 4,751
Arizona#65451 in 6,969
Washington#68851 in 6,889
Louisiana#70251 in 5,447
Pennsylvania#71571 in 9,531
Georgia#86561 in 8,597
Texas#1,031111 in 14,601
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Kale
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 1,953 spots since 2024 (#5,241 → #7,194)
  • 3,174 spots since 2020 (#4,020 → #7,194)
  • 6,098 spots since 2015 (#1,096 → #7,194)
  • Biggest jump: 173 spots in 1985 (#1,123 → #950)
  • Biggest drop: 178 spots in 1989 (#916 → #1,094)
Rise & fade · boys
91 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1917
  • Peaked 2008 at #504 (544 births)
  • Births halved by 2013, 5 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 19 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 19 yrs · run 2000–2014
Share of babies · boys
1 in 3,750
  • Highest: 1 in 3,750 boys born in 2008 were named Kale (0.03%)
  • Latest: 1 in 155,280 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
Era · boys
The 2000s
  • 39.0% of all boys named Kale (2,879) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1910s6#3,545 (1917)#3,545
1920s11#2,588 (1925)#2,588
1930s5#3,518 (1937)#3,518
1940s6#2,996 (1945)#2,996
1950s41#2,361 (1956)#3,402
1960s117#2,030 (1968)#2,549
1970s322#1,393 (1978)#1,611
1980s745#858 (1987)#1,151
1990s1,070#999 (1998)#1,104
2000s2,879#504 (2008)#774
2010s2,059#590 (2011)#1,525
2020s118#3,814 (2021)#5,205

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Kale in 1998

girls
#14,122
5 births · 1 in 353,390 girls
boys
#999
137 births · 1 in 13,952 boys

Top girls' names in 1998

  1. #1Emily26,188
  2. #2Hannah21,376
  3. #3Samantha20,195
  4. #4Sarah19,898
  5. #5Ashley19,875
  6. #6Alexis19,778
  7. #7Taylor18,576
  8. #8Jessica18,239
  9. #9Madison17,787
  10. #10Elizabeth15,193
  11. #14,122Kale5

Top boys' names in 1998

  1. #1Michael36,618
  2. #2Jacob36,031
  3. #3Matthew31,146
  4. #4Joshua28,095
  5. #5Christopher27,007
  6. #6Nicholas26,632
  7. #7Brandon23,832
  8. #8Tyler23,712
  9. #9Andrew23,664
  10. #10Austin23,478
  11. #999Kale137
More about 1998

girls

1,766,949 girls got a published name in 1998; 1 in 353,390 of them was named Kale, which outranked 14.9% of the 16,601 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 11.2% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kale
  1. #12,426Zykira6
  2. #12,426Zykiria6
  3. #12,426Zyra6
  4. #14,122Kale5
  5. #14,122Aaleah5
  6. #14,122Aamina5
  7. #14,122Aanisah5

Tied with 2,479 names at #14,122; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1997
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,123Calista#2,820 → #697
  2. ↑ 1,165Ireland#1,983 → #818
  3. ↑ 1,158Abril#2,116 → #958
  4. ↑ 755Mya#993 → #238
  5. ↑ 619Ally#1,036 → #417
Fallers
  1. ↓ 586Yulissa#424 → #1,010
  2. ↓ 462Moesha#943 → #1,405
  3. ↓ 397Yulisa#985 → #1,382
  4. ↓ 376Tonya#905 → #1,281
  5. ↓ 347Xena#765 → #1,112

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,911,366 boys got a published name in 1998; 1 in 13,952 of them was named Kale, which outranked 91.2% of the 11,311 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 14.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Kale
  1. #995Carlo138
  2. #995Mariano138
  3. #995Samson138
  4. #999Kale137
  5. #999Killian137
  6. #999Konnor137
  7. #999Kylan137
  8. #1,005Cayden136
  9. #1,005Gene136
  10. #1,005Mustafa136

Tied with 5 names at #999; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1997
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,736Tyrese#2,347 → #611
  2. ↑ 805Zion#1,499 → #694
  3. ↑ 785Mekhi#1,706 → #921
  4. ↑ 743Tyriq#1,519 → #776
  5. ↑ 741Tavian#1,599 → #858
Fallers
  1. ↓ 429Coty#918 → #1,347
  2. ↓ 367Anfernee#838 → #1,205
  3. ↓ 326Jessy#962 → #1,288
  4. ↓ 295Mickey#966 → #1,261
  5. ↓ 280Mikal#1,000 → #1,280

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1998 →