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Gender: Male Meaning of Caleb: "devotion to God" Origin of Caleb: Hebrew Caleb's Popularity in 2019: #52

Caleb Origin and Meaning

The name Caleb is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "devotion to God".

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 is an attractive Old Testament name that has been in the US Top 100 for nearly three decades now. 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.

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.

16 names similar to Caleb

These 16 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Caleb. If you didn't find an alternative name that you like better than Caleb, try our name generator. It allows you to go beyond the similarities of a name, which can provide a lot of inspiration!

Find other names based on Caleb using our baby name generator.

Lists containing Caleb

Caleb in Blog Posts

Popularity

Rank in US: #52
- this week

Famous People Named Caleb

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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

Pop Culture References for the name Caleb

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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."

Nicknames & Variations for Caleb

Kaleb, Caylyb, Caley, Calub, Calyb, Cayleb, Cale, Kale, Cal, Kalyb, Kayleb, Kaylob, Kaylyb

Comments

BookSneakersMovie Says:

2020-08-20T22:17:15

This is a cute name! Very popular, but I rather like it.

TechnoKitten Says:

2019-01-25T08:10:09

One of my favorite boy names

Francoamericano Says:

2018-05-19T02:04:53

Cool name unfortunately I have bad association

Alaina Says:

2017-05-24T20:06:30

I don't like the name Caleb. IDK why though.

stella2007 Says:

2017-01-12T07:50:00

I agree all those names you mentioned are lovely. I could never get sick of hearing Noah, I just love it!

mummyof5 Says:

2016-12-23T14:18:01

My twins are Cato Denver and Caleb King!

paulapuddephatt Says:

2016-11-10T00:59:52

Love Caleb and the K. version, Kaleb

stella2007 Says:

2016-05-21T04:57:26

It's a lovely name. It has a religious background but still sounds very modern. I fell in love with it after i heard a dad call out his son at a shopping center. Strong name for a boy. Cal is a nice nickname too!

EW314 Says:

2016-02-05T14:28:44

Caleb is a really nice name with a lovely, unique sound. It's similar in sound and feel to Jacob, but far less popular, and IMO nickname Cal is nicer and will age better than Jake or Coby.

The only problem is that Caleb is really catching on: no. 25 in the US, 50 in NZ, 67 in Australia and 93 in England and Wales in 2014. And it does look to still be rising, so in 10 years or so it could well be the new Jacob.

Calix ("KAY-lix" or "CAL-ix") is a potential alternative for a much less popular short, strong Cal- name. I personally like it, but be warned that it's very similar in sound to "calyx", a part of the kidney. I doubt many people would make that association though.

RavenZimmi Says:

2015-06-05T18:44:30

I never really got this name, sounds weird to me. Maybe its that I know 6 Calebs but idk...

KassemJ Says:

2015-05-07T18:53:17

This is a wonderful name.

headintheclouds Says:

2015-03-11T06:22:31

I think Caleb is one of the nicest biblical boy names out there, with a great meaning, great sound and spelling, accessible nicknames, and familiar associations. My first association with this name, besides the (quite a number of) real-life people I know named Caleb, would be Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon.

I know so many people in my Christian acquaintance circle who are naming their sons Caleb- every new baby boy in the group, it seems, is named either Caleb, Jacob, Noah or Asher. All of which are great names.

Leah3456 Says:

2015-01-08T04:18:05

The lead singer of the Kings of Leon makes me love this name!

Essa Says:

2014-12-31T12:49:41

I have a few friends who want to name their son Caleb and even my husband really likes it but I just don't. Simple as. I don't think it's a bad name and it has a lovely meaning, I just don't hear a name that I could ever love it's just so 'meh' to me.

Shishi Says:

2014-10-16T23:43:39

Caleb Prior ruined this name for me :/

Guest Says:

2014-10-06T16:35:55

If my cousin didn't have this name it'd be at the top of my list. 😩

SunKissedChild Says:

2014-07-23T07:57:56

I used to like this name a lot more, but it's so incredibly popular where I live. I know so many young Calebs, it just seems like around here everyone names their sons Caleb and Oliver and not much else. But they are great names, don't get me wrong.

Addie88 Says:

2014-07-23T04:52:18

This is one of my very favorite names of all time, and is definitely on my shortlist of boys' names to seriously consider one day. It's a very attractive alternative to too common Biblical standards like Jacob. I also like that it's not very common in my state.

Shishi Says:

2014-06-27T19:36:39

In my opinion it just reminds me of the idiotic Caleb Prior from Divergent. I do not like him at all. The name is nice though and I'm kinda sad that every time i hear the name it reminds me of Caleb Prior.

lesliemarion Says:

2014-04-05T01:52:17

I have fallen head over heels in love with this name. Love Cal as a nickname too.