Cal

Diminutive of names including Cal

"dog; the whole of; dove; bald; war-strife; beautiful"

Cal Origin and Meaning

The name Cal is a boy's name meaning "dog; the whole of; dove; bald; war-strife; beautiful".

Cal is a nickname style name that feels as friendly and calm as it does cool and breezy. While its longer forms have proved more popular over the years, Cal as a stand alone has dropped on and off of the US Top 1000 since the 1880s.

Traditionally, Cal derives from the Biblical Caleb, giving it the meaning "dog" or "the whole of". Alternatively, it comes from the English name Calvin, meaning bald. There are however a multitude of other origins, including Callum, Callahan, Callan, Pascal, Connally, Calix, and Macauley, which gives you the chance to pick whichever meaning you like best, some of which are listed above.

You could go for one of these long forms if your prefer something more formal or with a more solid meaning, but Cal as a standalone name has a long history of use. Since US records began, there has never been a year when it wasn't given to at least 5 babies, and. as of 2020, it is back in the US Top 1000 and on the rise.

Given to around 370 babies each year, Cal fits in with other nickname style names, like Leo, Jack, Finn, Ty, Drew, and Mack.

Cal Rank in US Top 1000

# 670 in the US

Cal Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 334 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Cal

• 670 US 2024
• 334 Nameberry 2025
• 171 Unique 2019
• 857 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Cal

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

• Shepherd
• Edison
• Murphy
• Booker
• Foster
• Mack
• Boone
• Harris
• Prescott
• Thatcher
• Heath
• Penn
• Campbell
• Judd
• Burke
• Watson
• Monroe
• Van
• Shepard
• Langston

Famous People Named Cal

• Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken Jr. American baseball player
• Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken Sr. American baseball player
• Robert Calvin "Cal" Hubbard American NFL player and baseball umpire
• Calvin "Cal" Scruby American hip,hop artist
• Cal Smith (born Calvin Grant Shofner) American country music singer
• John Calvin "Cal" Thomas American columnist and pundit
• Calvin Coolidge "Cal" Worthington American car dealer famous for his commercials
• Calvin M. "Cal" Dooley U.S. Congressman from California
• Callen Radcliffe "Cal" Tjader Jr. American jazz musician
• Callahan "Cal" O'Reilly Canadian ice hockey player
• Silent Cal nickname for U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
• Callum Airey YouTube personality known as Calfreezy
• ^v not the same person although they do live together
• Callum McGinley YouTube personality known as Callux
• Cal Tetley English Metal Detectorist

The name Cal in Pop Culture

• Cal Lightman main character on TV's "Lie to Me"
• Caledon "Cal" Hockley character in movie "Titanic"
• Judge Cal character in Judge Dredd comics
• "Cal " 1984 Irish movie and novel by Bernard MacLaverty
• "Cal " short story about a robot by Isaac Asimov
• Cal Morrison character in TV's "Orphan Black"
• Calvin "Cal" Zabo/Johnson character in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Caleb 'Cal' Trask character in John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden'
• Tiberias "Cal" Calore character from novel Red Queen
• Cal Weaver main character in film "Crazy, Stupid, Love"