Kali

Kali is a name with weather of its own. In Sanskrit it belongs to the Hindu goddess of time, destruction, and fierce maternal love, whose devotees have worshipped her for millennia; in Swahili it carries the gentler meaning of energy or strength; in Hawaiian it sounds like a hesitation, then a smile. For American parents it often arrives simply as a bright alternative to Callie or Kayla, pronounced KAY-lee or KAH-lee. Two crisp syllables that refuse to be soft. The name has climbed steadily into the Top 300, now near 294. Short, global, a little electric—Kali commands attention.