Fun Facts About the Name Kalis
- 266 babies named Kalis: U.S. records list 266 babies given the name Kalis from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 boys received the name Kalis - about 1 boy for every 52 girls.
What Does the Name Kalis Mean?
Kalis has more than one independent origin, so it does not carry a single meaning. In the Baltic lands it is tied to the trade of the smith: Lithuanian kalvis and Latvian kalējs both mean "smith," from a Baltic root for hammering or forging, and surnames of this type were commonly taken from a family's occupation. In the Netherlands and Flanders, Kalis is recorded as a surname and is often explained as a short form of the given name Nicolaas, the ancestor of English Nicholas, by way of the everyday Dutch form Klaas. Separately, kalis is an ordinary word in Malay and Indonesian meaning "impervious" or "not penetrable," as in kalis air ("waterproof"), and by extension "immune" or ritually pure; that word shares the spelling but is not the source of the European name.
Kalis Name History & Origins
As a family name, Kalis belongs to several unrelated traditions. In Lithuania and Latvia, smith surnames such as Kalvis and Kalējs grew out of a society in which craft occupations were a standard source of surnames, and shortened or adapted forms like Kalis appear in records of the region. In the Low Countries, Kalis is found as a Dutch and Flemish surname; Dutch family names of this kind were often fixed from patronymics and short forms of common given names, which is the basis for connecting it with Nicolaas. German and Polish spellings such as Kalisch also exist and are generally linked to the town of Kalisz in Poland rather than to the Baltic or Dutch names.
The word kalis in Malay and Indonesian is not a personal name in origin; it describes something that cannot be penetrated or harmed, and is used both literally (a waterproof cloth) and figuratively (a person believed to be safe from weapons or illness). In the southern Philippines, the kalis is a wavy-bladed sword of the Moro peoples, related to the Malay and Indonesian kris. That weapon name is a separate word that happens to be spelled the same way. The name is much more common as a surname than as a given name.
How Popular is the Name Kalis?
Kalis 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 2007. Its best rank was #6,201 in 2007.
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 | #16,048 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #16,313 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #14,313 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #12,763 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #10,888 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #13,101 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #14,974 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #9,731 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2015 | #11,352 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #11,429 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #9,299 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2012 | #9,384 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2011 | #10,049 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #7,702 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2009 | #7,191 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2008 | #11,186 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2007 | #6,201 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2006 | #7,667 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #7,699 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2004 | #6,354 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #7,385 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #12,862 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2001 | #14,382 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #11,229 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,294 | 5 | 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 Kalis 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.
✦ Kalis's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kalis's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.