Fun Facts About the Name Callaway
- More than 1 thousand babies named Callaway: U.S. records list 1,220 babies given the name Callaway from 1880 through 2025. Even 581 girls received the name Callaway.
What Does the Name Callaway Mean?
Callaway is an English surname that has also come into use as a given name, mainly in the United States. Its exact meaning is not settled. The explanation most often given treats it as a habitational name, meaning one taken from a place, formed from Old English calu, "bare" or "bald," and weg, "way" or "road," which would describe a road running over bare or open ground. The place behind the name has not been identified, so that derivation is plausible rather than proven.
A second suggestion connects Callaway with surnames of similar shape, such as Calloway and Kellaway, some of which come from places in Cornwall and Devon. Similar-looking surnames can develop separately, so that link is not established. Taken strictly, Callaway is an English place-derived surname whose original place and literal sense are unknown.
Callaway Name History & Origins
Callaway belongs to the large group of English family names that began as descriptions of where a person lived or came from. Surnames of this kind became fixed and inherited in England during the later Middle Ages, when a byname drawn from a village, a farm, or a stretch of landscape could pass from father to children. Because the specific place has not been traced, the surname's earliest form and home region cannot be stated with confidence.
The name was carried to North America by English emigrants and took root there. In colonial Virginia it is associated with Richard Callaway, an eighteenth-century frontier settler linked to Daniel Boone and the Kentucky settlement at Boonesborough; in 1776 his daughters were taken captive in a frontier raid that also involved Boone's daughter Jemima. The surname remained common in the American South, and in the twentieth century it began to be given as a first name, following the American habit of turning family surnames into personal names. It is also familiar today as the name of the golf-equipment company founded by Ely Callaway.
How Popular is the Name Callaway?
Callaway has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,811 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,039 | 93 | 0.0058% |
| 2024 | #2,848 | 58 | 0.0036% |
| 2023 | #3,650 | 42 | 0.0026% |
| 2022 | #3,713 | 41 | 0.0025% |
| 2021 | #3,687 | 41 | 0.0025% |
| 2020 | #5,188 | 24 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #4,181 | 34 | 0.0020% |
| 2018 | #5,036 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2017 | #6,584 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #5,163 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2015 | #8,086 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #7,051 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #6,520 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #7,520 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #8,282 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2010 | #9,332 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2009 | #15,603 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #10,210 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #10,970 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2006 | #9,406 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #10,380 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #11,189 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1999 | #10,520 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #9,397 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #9,947 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #13,762 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,811 | 88 | 0.0052% |
| 2024 | #2,167 | 67 | 0.0039% |
| 2023 | #2,193 | 65 | 0.0038% |
| 2022 | #2,679 | 49 | 0.0028% |
| 2021 | #2,982 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 2020 | #3,212 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 2019 | #3,647 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2018 | #4,765 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2017 | #3,692 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2016 | #3,538 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2015 | #5,549 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2014 | #4,557 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #4,828 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2012 | #8,257 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #4,678 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2010 | #7,674 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #9,111 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #7,780 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #4,660 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #5,826 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #11,716 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #7,126 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #9,433 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #10,591 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #8,852 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #8,621 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Callaway Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.
✦ Callaway's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Callaway's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.