Fun Facts About the Name Kala
- More than 7 thousand babies named Kala: U.S. records list 7,772 babies given the name Kala from 1880 through 2025. Even 92 boys received the name Kala - about 1 boy for every 83 girls.
What Does the Name Kala Mean?
Kala has more than one unrelated source, so it does not have a single meaning. Its most widespread origin is Sanskrit, where three separate words look the same once written in Latin letters. Kāla (काल) means "time" and also carries the senses "destiny," "death," and "the destroyer"; a second kāla means "black" or "dark-colored"; and kalā (कला) means "art," "skill," or "a small division or fraction." Because the words differ in meaning but not in English spelling, the meaning depends on which Sanskrit word is intended. The feminine given name is often connected with kalā, "art," while kāla, "time," is common as a masculine name and as an epithet in religious texts.
Other origins are separate. In Hawaiian, kala is an ordinary word meaning "to forgive, to loosen, to absolve," and it is also the Hawaiian name of the surgeonfish; it is used as a personal name in Hawaii. The Finnish and Estonian noun kala means "fish" and is found as a surname in those countries. In Turkish, and in Balkan languages that borrowed the word, kala comes from Arabic qalʿa and means "fortress" or "castle." None of these is related to the Sanskrit words or to one another.
Kala Name History & Origins
The Sanskrit word kāla, "time," was personified in Hindu tradition as a force identified with death and dissolution. The title Mahākāla, "great time," is applied to Shiva, and Kala is also a name or epithet of Yama, the god of death; in Tibetan Buddhism, Mahakala became a protective deity. Because the word is so common in Sanskrit, Kala appears in India as both a personal name and a surname without being tied to one story, region, or founder.
In Hawaii, Kala follows a naming practice in which everyday words - fish, plants, natural features, qualities - serve as personal names, and the name carries the word's sense of forgiving or releasing. This Hawaiian name is unconnected to the Sanskrit name, and neither is connected to the Finnish and Estonian surname Kala, which simply comes from the word for fish. In Turkish, kala (from Arabic qalʿa) means "fortress," a word seen in place names across Turkey and the Balkans. Kala Dandekar, a main character in the science-fiction series Sense8 (2015 - 2018), is a modern literary use of the existing Indian name rather than the source of it.
How Popular is the Name Kala?
Kala recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1989. Its best rank was #462 in 1989.
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 | #9,765 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #8,660 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2023 | #6,530 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 2022 | #8,768 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #7,437 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #5,561 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 2019 | #6,070 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 2018 | #6,372 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2017 | #5,739 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2016 | #4,676 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2015 | #4,653 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2014 | #8,265 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2013 | #5,915 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2012 | #5,791 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2011 | #7,601 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #4,913 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 2009 | #5,460 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2008 | #3,100 | 55 | 0.0029% |
| 2007 | #4,518 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2006 | #3,441 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 2005 | #2,744 | 61 | 0.0033% |
| 2004 | #2,315 | 75 | 0.0041% |
| 2003 | #2,177 | 80 | 0.0044% |
| 2002 | #1,577 | 118 | 0.0066% |
| 2001 | #1,401 | 136 | 0.0076% |
| 2000 | #1,272 | 153 | 0.0084% |
| 1999 | #1,148 | 171 | 0.0096% |
| 1998 | #1,041 | 190 | 0.0108% |
| 1997 | #949 | 209 | 0.0120% |
| 1996 | #853 | 234 | 0.0133% |
| 1995 | #693 | 308 | 0.0175% |
| 1994 | #674 | 315 | 0.0176% |
| 1993 | #638 | 351 | 0.0194% |
| 1992 | #635 | 354 | 0.0192% |
| 1991 | #551 | 426 | 0.0227% |
| 1990 | #543 | 438 | 0.0231% |
| 1989 | #462 | 525 | 0.0285% |
| 1988 | #491 | 462 | 0.0259% |
| 1987 | #530 | 381 | 0.0219% |
| 1986 | #675 | 273 | 0.0159% |
| 1985 | #766 | 223 | 0.0130% |
| 1984 | #798 | 199 | 0.0118% |
| 1983 | #624 | 277 | 0.0166% |
| 1982 | #763 | 217 | 0.0128% |
| 1981 | #1,970 | 54 | 0.0032% |
| 1980 | #1,990 | 53 | 0.0032% |
| 1979 | #2,064 | 49 | 0.0031% |
| 1978 | #1,847 | 54 | 0.0035% |
| 1977 | #1,934 | 51 | 0.0033% |
| 1976 | #2,011 | 44 | 0.0030% |
| 1975 | #2,294 | 36 | 0.0025% |
| 1974 | #2,041 | 41 | 0.0028% |
| 1973 | #2,245 | 35 | 0.0024% |
| 1972 | #2,630 | 27 | 0.0018% |
| 1971 | #1,784 | 50 | 0.0030% |
| 1970 | #2,140 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 1969 | #2,075 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 1968 | #2,574 | 24 | 0.0015% |
| 1967 | #2,187 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1966 | #2,325 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1965 | #2,432 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1964 | #2,219 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1963 | #2,038 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1962 | #2,187 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1961 | #2,129 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1960 | #2,124 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1959 | #2,549 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1958 | #2,414 | 23 | 0.0011% |
| 1957 | #2,981 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1956 | #3,118 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1955 | #2,587 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1954 | #4,119 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #2,871 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1952 | #2,617 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1951 | #5,129 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #4,131 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #4,443 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #3,468 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #5,693 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #3,821 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1945 | #4,894 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #3,537 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1943 | #3,998 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #11,463 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #13,471 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2008 | #11,812 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #9,703 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #5,925 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1987 | #7,561 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1984 | #5,972 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #4,355 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #4,858 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #3,860 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1975 | #5,123 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #4,395 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #4,801 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #4,205 | 7 | 0.0004% |
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 Kala Shapes Your Personality and Life?
EXTREMES in fortune, health and spirituality. You are very versatile, idealistic and intuitive. You either enjoy great success or suffer abject misery. The solution is service to others. Use your leadership abilities for humanity and not for self-glorification. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Kala's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kala's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.