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Caleb

Hebrew
"dog; whole heart"
Grace Royal
By Grace Royal
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Caleb Origin and Meaning

The name Caleb is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "dog; whole heart".

Caleb is an attractive Old Testament name that has been in the US Top 100 for nearly three decades now. Consistently popular but never too popular, Caleb feels more like a classic than a momentary trend.

Caleb has two potential derivations, the first being from the Hebrew kelev, meaning "dog," and the second from the Hebrew components kal and lev, together meaning "whole heart."

In the Old Testament Caleb is one of only two ancient Israelites (Joshua was the other) who set out from Egypt to finally enter the promised land.

Caleb Garth is a character in George Eliot's Middlemarch. Caleb was the full name of James Dean's character Cal in East of Eden, and the name has also been heard on Desperate Housewives and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Julianne Moore chose Caleb for her son, as did Bo Bice. The shortform Cale is also rising in popularity, and the current Kaleb spelling picks up on the K-to-C initial trend.

# 49 in the US

Caleb Rank in US Top 1000

# 82 on Nameberry

Caleb Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Caleb

20 Names Similar to Caleb

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Caleb.

Famous People Named Caleb

  • Caleb
    great,grandson of patriarch Judah (1 Chr. 2)
  • Caleb Nott
    New Zealand musician
  • (Caleb) Casey Affleck
    American actor
  • (Anthony) Caleb Followill
    American musician of band Kings of Leon
  • Caleb Deschanel
    American film director, father of actresses Zooey and Emily Deschanel
  • Caleb Crushing
    American diplomat
  • Caleb Carr
    American novelist
  • Caleb Lyon
    American politician, 2nd governor of Idaho Territory
  • Caleb Strong
    U.S. Senator and governor of Massachusetts
  • Caleb James Sturgis
    American NFL football player
  • Caleb Cassidy
    son of American actor/producer Shaun Cassidy
  • Caleb Knightley
    brother of English actress Keira Knightley
  • Caleeb Pinkett
    American actor and brother of actress Jada Pinkett Smith
  • Caleb Landry Jones
    American actor
  • Caleb Logan LeBlanc
    late American YouTuber
  • Caleb Joseph Eckstein
    American child actor; triplet of brothers Alexander and Benjamin
  • Caleb James Goddard (b. 1970)
    son of actors Susan Anspach and Jack Nicholson; adopted son of actor Mark Goddard
  • Caleb Freundlich (b. 1997)
    son of actress Julianne Moore and director Bart Freundlich
  • Caleb Mojica (b. 1998)
    son of singer Trina Braxton
  • Caleb Kai Solomon (b. 2007)
    fourth son of American "Octomom" Nadya Suleman
  • Caleb Bela Caballero (b. 2007)
    son of skateboarder Steve Caballero
  • Caleb James Bice (b. 2008)
    son of singer Bo Bice
  • Caleb Michael Hamels (b. 2009)
    son of baseball player Cole Hamels
  • Caleb Marleau (b. 2014)
    son of ice hockey player Patrick Marleau
  • Caleb Kelechi Asomugha (b. 2016)
    son of actress Kerry Washington
  • Caleb McLaughlin
    American actor

The name Caleb in Pop Culture

  • Caleb
    the Rebel leader in "W.I.T.C.H", a comic book series and animated series
  • Caleb Garth
    character in George Eliot's "Middlemarch" (1871)
  • Caleb Brewster
    character in TV show "TURN: Washington's Spies"
  • Caleb Trask
    character in John Steinbeck's East of Eden
  • Caleb Prior
    character in the Divergent series
  • Caleb Smallwood
    character on The CW's "The Vampire Diaries"
  • Caleb Rivers
    character on Freeform's "Pretty Little Liars" and "Ravenswood"
  • Caleb Williams
    a novel by William Godwin and main character
  • Caleb Pontipee
    character in movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"
  • Caleb Witting
    character in Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia McLaughlan
  • Caleb Temple
    character on TV's "American Gothic"
  • Caleb Nichol
    character on TV's "The O.C."
  • Caleb
    character on TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
  • Caleb ben Hilliel
    character in H. Rider Haggard's, Pearl Maiden
  • Caleb O'Dell
    character on CBC's Heartland
  • Caleb Jacks
    character from Mari Mancusi's "Scorched", twin of Connor Jacks
  • Caleb
    minor character in Lois Lowry's "The Giver"
  • Caleb Haas
    character on ABC's "Quantico"
  • Caleb Calhoun
    character on A&E's "Bates Motel"
  • Caleb Widogast
    character in Dungeons & Dragons show "Critical Role"
  • Caleb Vatore
    pre,made vampire in The Sims 4

The name Caleb in Nameberry Blog Posts