At a glance
- U.S. rank 2025
- #8,243 of boy names (outside the top 1,000)
- Babies in 2025
- 9 (<0.01% of boys)
- Trend
- Slipping #4,855 in 2020 to #8,243 in 2025
- Peak
- #3,990 in 2016
- First recorded
- 2004
Meaning of Caliber
Caliber (pronounced KAH-lə-bər) emerges in contemporary Anglo-American naming practice as a masculine given name directly appropriated from the English noun “caliber,” itself derived from French calibre and ultimately from Italian calibro, originally denoting the internal diameter of a barrel or tube. In its adoption as a personal name, Caliber conveys connotations of precision, measurement and inherent quality, articulating an aspirational framework in which notions of capability and standard are foregrounded within an appellative construct. Its modest yet consistent appearance in recent U.S. naming registers underscores both its distinctiveness and its conceptual weight, positioning the name as a deliberate choice for parents inclined toward appellations that fuse technical resonance with understated gravitas. Through semantic transference from instrumentality to identity, Caliber achieves a balance between pragmatic clarity and articulated ambition, reflecting a broader cultural interest in names that offer both descriptive exactitude and social distinction.
How to pronounce Caliber
English
- Pronounced KAH-luh-ber /ˈkæ.lər/
Popularity of Caliber in the U.S.
Caliber was the #8,243 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 9 babies. It peaked at #3,990 in 2016. It first appears in the records in 2004.
- Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 2004–2025 20 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 8,243 | ▼ 2,044 |
| 2024 | 14 | 6,199 | ▼ 272 |
| 2023 | 15 | 5,927 | ▼ 712 |
| 2022 | 18 | 5,215 | ▼ 435 |
| 2021 | 20 | 4,780 | ▲ 75 |
| 2020 | 19 | 4,855 | ▲ 700 |
| 2019 | 16 | 5,555 | ▼ 1,329 |
| 2018 | 24 | 4,226 | ▲ 1,300 |
| 2017 | 16 | 5,526 | ▼ 1,536 |
| 2016 | 26 | 3,990 | ▲ 4,754 |
| 2015 | 8 | 8,744 | ▼ 2,437 |
| 2014 | 13 | 6,307 | ▲ 719 |
| 2013 | 11 | 7,026 | ▲ 1,838 |
| 2012 | 8 | 8,864 | ▲ 736 |
| 2011 | 7 | 9,600 | ▲ 93 |
| 2010 | 7 | 9,693 | ▲ 171 |
| 2009 | 7 | 9,864 | ▲ 1,173 |
| 2008 | 6 | 11,037 | ▼ 116 |
| 2007 | 6 | 10,921 | back (not recorded in 2005–2006) |
| 2004 | 6 | 9,948 | new |