Cal is a short form of Calvin, from the Latin calvus, "bald", and of Callum, the Scottish form of the Latin columba, "dove". Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. gave the nickname a sturdy, all-American ring. Used on its own, Cal climbed from number 1410 in 2000 into the top 1000 in 2020 and reaches number 543 among boys' names in 2025, its best rank yet.