Caleb
KAY-leb
A biblical name meaning “dog,” associated with faithfulness and steadfastness.
Meaning
Caleb is a Scripture name from Hebrew, explained in the excerpts as meaning “a dog” (Hebrew keleb / katebh / kelebh). The books note that it entered Christian naming through the Bible, especially because of Caleb the faithful spy in the Book of Judges/Israel’s wilderness story.
Origin
HebrewEnglishmasculine
Fun fact
One excerpt says it was “seldom copied except by the Puritan taste,” reflecting how strongly biblical and virtue-driven its early English use was.
Confidence: sourced. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.