Baby Name of the Day: Caleb

The baby name Caleb offers Biblical roots with a distinctive sound.

Thanks to Kelly for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME CALEB MEAN?

We love to give our children names borrowed from animals, whether it’s subtle Leo or straight-up Bear or Wren.

But Dog is not a given name. Sometimes it’s even an insult. 

Snoop Dogg started out life as Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., and even though he’s been a pop culture powerhouse since the 1990s, we don’t name our children for him.

Likewise, Dog the Bounty Hunter was born Duane, and despite his time in the spotlight, inspired no namesakes.

What does this have to do with Caleb?

The baby name Caleb probably comes from a Hebrew word meaning dog: kelev.

Others suggest an alternate Hebrew etymology, meaning whole-hearted. Lev means heart, and the first element means whole.

Some split the difference, and list positive canine attributes – like loyalty or devotion – as Caleb’s meaning.

CALEB IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Given the name’s Hebrew origin, it’s no surprise that it comes from the Bible.

The original Caleb was one of the Old Testament faithful. After the Israelites left Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies to explore the promised land and report back. 

Caleb completed his assignment, giving an accurate report. He also urged action, as did Joshua. But the other ten spies disagreed, spreading fear.

After the Hebrews spent forty years in the desert, only he and Joshua entered Canaan.

It adds another layer of meaning to the baby name Caleb: brave.

Thousands of years later, Caleb was one of the Old Testament names revived during the Protestant Reformation. 

Puritans brought in to America, along with plenty of other choices like Micah and Elijah.

NOTABLE CALEBS: FICTIONAL AND REAL

That makes the baby name Caleb a logical choice for parents seeking Biblical names. Easy to spell and pronounce, it was well-used in the English-speaking world during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

That means that Colonial and early American Calebs were plentiful, fitting right in with so many Old Testament names embraced by parents in a post-Reformation world.

A few examples from history and literature, beginning in the 17th century, include:

• Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck became the first Native American graduate of Harvard, in the year 1665. 
• Caleb Pusey was a friend and business partner of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. Pusey arrived in the colony in the year 1682.
• George Eliot gave us kindly Caleb Garth in Middlemarch, published in 1871 and 1872.
• Turn-of-the-century pharmacist and inventor Caleb Bradham invented what we now know as Pepsi Cola.
• Nearly a century later, John Steinbeck gave the name to one of the brothers in his 1952 novel East of Eden. But for the 1955 film adaptation, Caleb Trask is exclusively called Cal.
• In 1954, Caleb is among the siblings in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. (He marries Ruth.) The 1954 movie led to a 1982 television series, but they changed Caleb’s name to Crane.

POP CULTURE CALEBS

The name’s use accelerated in the 1970s and 80s, thanks in part to a number of pop culture Calebs. In turn, the name’s popularity led to even more fictional uses of the name.

• Anne Tyler’s 1975 novel Searching for Caleb is an enduring story about the Peck family.
• In 1986 children’s book, Sarah, Plain and Tall, we meet another Caleb. The story about homesteaders in the Midwestern US during the nineteenth century has several sequels, including Caleb’s Story. 
• Soap opera As The World Turns introduced a character named Caleb Snyder in 1988. This marks a turning point for the name’s popularity in the US.
• Short-lived cult classic television series American Gothic was the twisted story of Caleb Temple, from 1995 to 1996.
• Nathan Fillion played a bad guy by the name in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer during the early 2000s.
• Caleb is one of Betty Applewhite’s problematic sons on Desperate Housewives. 
• Pretty Little Liars and spin-off Ravenswood follow Caleb Rivers, who helps investigate the identity of the mysterious “A.”
• Caleb Nichols is a villain in the mid-2010s sci fi series Westworld. 
• The Divergent book series an film adaptations give us Caleb Prior, brother of Tris.
• The front man of indie band Kings of Leon is Caleb Followill.
• American actor Caleb McLaughlin is best known for his role on Stranger Things. Caleb Landry Jones has won a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He’s known for Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and an upcoming Luc Besson take on Dracula.

Plenty of additional athletes, writers, actors, and musicians round out the list.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME CALEB?

We tend to think of Caleb as a traditional boy’s name, steady and true.

Except that’s not quite right. After all, East of Eden and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers changed the characters’ names to Cal and Crane. Name changes happen for lots of reasons, but in this case, it might demonstrate the rise, fall, and return of the name Caleb.

Beginning in the year 1900, the baby name Caleb occasionally ranked in the US Top 1000. 

But after 1925? The name exited the rankings for nearly four decades.

Caleb returned in 1964, and by 1968, was climbing steadily in use. 

But the name slowly made a comeback.

In general, the late twentieth century was a good moment for Old Testament names, including Ethan, Jacob, Noah, and Luke, as well as girls’ names like Abigail and Hannah.

Pop culture gets credit for accelerating the name’s rise.

In 1988, the baby name Caleb ranked #108, already a dramatic increase. Then along came the character on soap opera As the World Turns, and by 1989, Caleb had made the US Top 100.

It had the magic formula sought by so many parents: a cool, current, and distinctive sound paired with plenty of history.

Caleb peaked at #31 in 2009.

It remains a very popular choice, at #51 as of 2023.

At #274, Kaleb-with-a-K has also seen consistent use in recent years.

STEADFAST AND TRUE

Call the baby name Caleb a modern traditional.

Or maybe just traditional.

It’s typically used in full, but can shorten to Cal or Cale (or Kal or Kale, depending on spelling), lending it a little bit of flexibility. 

A great name for a little boy, Caleb is handsome on a grown-up, too.

If you’re looking for a rock solid name for son, Caleb fits.

What do you think of the baby name Caleb?

First posted on June 30, 2011, this post was revised on December 28, 2021, January 24, 2025.