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.

# 714 in the US

Cal Rank in US Top 1000

# 557 on Nameberry

Cal Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Cal Popularity

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 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"