Kali

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Clara in BR Brazil, AR Argentina, ES Spain and 10 more, Klara in HU Hungary, CZ Czechia, PL Poland and 4 more, Клара in RU Russia, KZ Kazakhstan, UA Ukraine and 1 more and קלרה in IL Israel.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Kali is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate name127K records spelled Kali8 spellings in the group

  Also written Kāli, Kalî, Káli, Kālī, Kāḷi

• German surname65K records spelled Kali34 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Poland, Canada

  Languages: German, English

  Also written Káli, Ka-Li, Kàli, Kali', Kāli

• French given name20K records spelled Kali17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France

  Also written Kâli, Kâlî, Kåli, Kālī, Kàlì

• Bangla surname17K records spelled Kali38 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Bangladesh, United States, United Kingdom

  Languages: Bangla, Hindi, Urdu

  Also written Koli, Coley, কলি, কালী, কালি

• Turkish surname4.2K records spelled Kali15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Netherlands, Italy

  Also written Çali, Calì, Çalî, Çẫlî, Kâlî

• Hindi given name1.3K records spelled Kali142 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, Netherlands, United States, Pakistan

  Languages: Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese

  Also written Kalu, Kool, Kulu, Kullu, Kul

• a separate name1.1K records spelled Kali2 spellings in the group

  Also written Kalī

56 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Kali is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Malay, obsolete form of gali

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Satyavati (M); a wife of Bhimasena (P);

  as a name·Sunama Sarit (Hindi) Ten Thousand Sanskrit Names

• In Swahili, Kiswahili: 'fierce, sharp'; also Sanskrit-derived feminine name meaning 'energy'

  as a name·African Names

• mother goddess Sakti; energy, black goddess

  as a name·A Genealogists Guide to Indian Names A Reference for First Names from India

• the period of sin.

  as a name·The Penguin book of Hindu names for boys

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 96 years between 1911–2016. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Kali Banerjeeb. 1921INIndian actor
• Kali Rochab. 1971USAmerican actress
• Kali Troyb. 1971USVoice actress, TV Host & Radio Personality
• Cyril Kalib. 1984FRFrench footballer
• Kali Dreamsb. 1984USAmerican porn actress
• Kali Hawkb. 1986USAmerican actress
• Kali Reisb. 1986USAmerican boxer and actress
• Kali Christb. 1991CAspeed skater
• Kali Rosesb. 1996USAmerican pornographic actress from California (born. 1996)
• Kali Majorsb. 1999USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 690 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kali?

We estimate roughly 593 thousand people bear Kali (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Kali have the most bearers?

Kali is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled clara.

Where is Kali most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Kali is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 135 people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Kali compared with other names?

In Argentina, Kali is the 231st most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

What does the name Kali mean?

Recorded meaning: time (instance or occurrence)