Fun Facts About the Name Kalman
- More than 1 thousand babies named Kalman: U.S. records list 1,257 babies given the name Kalman from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Kalman Mean?
Kalman is a masculine name used mainly in Hungarian and in Ashkenazi Jewish communities, and it rests on two separate origins rather than one. The Hungarian form Kálmán has no securely established meaning; it is usually thought to come from a Turkic language, but no single Turkic source word has been identified with confidence. The Yiddish name Kalman is customarily explained as a form of Kalonymos, a Jewish name of Greek origin made from kalos ("beautiful") and onoma ("name"), literally "beautiful name." That Greek-derived sense is the one traditionally attached to the Jewish name; the Hungarian name's literal sense remains uncertain, and the two should not be merged into a single etymology.
Kalman Name History & Origins
The Hungarian name Kálmán is best known from King Kálmán of Hungary, who reigned from 1095 to 1116 and appears as Coloman in Latin and English sources. His name belongs to a group of early royal names, such as Géza and Béla, that seem to come from a Turkic layer in the Hungarian name stock rather than from Hungarian's Finno-Ugric vocabulary; the precise Turkic source is still debated. The name remained in use in Hungary after the Middle Ages, written with an accent on the first vowel as Kálmán; in English and German contexts the accent is normally dropped. The Irish pilgrim saint Coloman of Stockerau is a different name and does not belong to this tradition.
The Yiddish name Kalman belongs to Ashkenazi Jewish naming practice. It is traditionally connected with Kalonymos, a name carried by a notable Jewish family long settled in Mainz on the Rhine, whose members were known for scholarship and liturgical poetry from roughly the tenth century onward. Kalman was used both as an everyday or vernacular name alongside a Hebrew name and as a name in its own right among Jews in Germany, Poland, and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. In the English-speaking world the name appears chiefly in families of Hungarian or Ashkenazi Jewish background, reflecting those two traditions.
How Popular is the Name Kalman?
Kalman 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 #1,174 in 1914.
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 | #4,088 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2024 | #6,009 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2023 | #4,666 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2022 | #6,313 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #4,554 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 2020 | #5,572 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2019 | #5,957 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2018 | #6,919 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2017 | #4,039 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 2016 | #5,042 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2015 | #4,967 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2014 | #5,369 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2013 | #6,818 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #5,375 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #6,099 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2010 | #5,890 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2009 | #5,948 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2008 | #5,928 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #6,095 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #5,667 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2005 | #6,042 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2004 | #4,893 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #5,414 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #7,338 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #6,711 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2000 | #4,918 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #4,887 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #5,310 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #6,938 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #5,037 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1995 | #8,331 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #4,417 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #8,146 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1992 | #9,109 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1991 | #7,750 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,579 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #5,787 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1985 | #5,455 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #4,769 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #5,196 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1982 | #3,041 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #4,628 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1978 | #4,356 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #5,488 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #4,558 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1974 | #3,701 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #3,482 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #4,667 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #4,495 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #4,172 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #4,260 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #2,881 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #3,718 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1964 | #2,360 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #3,190 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #2,238 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1961 | #3,843 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #2,075 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1959 | #3,803 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1958 | #2,215 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1957 | #2,435 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #3,731 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #2,498 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1954 | #3,632 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1953 | #3,267 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1952 | #2,784 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1951 | #2,306 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1950 | #2,672 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #3,156 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #2,275 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1947 | #2,312 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1946 | #2,339 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1945 | #2,191 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1944 | #2,256 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1943 | #3,798 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #1,773 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1941 | #1,793 | 16 | 0.0013% |
| 1940 | #2,132 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #2,716 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1938 | #2,562 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1937 | #2,143 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1936 | #3,820 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1935 | #2,626 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1933 | #2,293 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1932 | #3,232 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #2,774 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1930 | #4,284 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #2,686 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1928 | #3,235 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #1,917 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1926 | #2,029 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1925 | #2,370 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1924 | #2,093 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1923 | #3,315 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1922 | #2,412 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1921 | #2,022 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1920 | #1,848 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1919 | #1,602 | 22 | 0.0022% |
| 1918 | #2,220 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1917 | #1,462 | 24 | 0.0026% |
| 1916 | #1,898 | 16 | 0.0018% |
| 1915 | #1,435 | 23 | 0.0027% |
| 1914 | #1,174 | 25 | 0.0038% |
| 1913 | #1,544 | 13 | 0.0025% |
| 1912 | #2,147 | 7 | 0.0016% |
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 Kalman 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.
✦ Kalman's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Kalman's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.