Caleb

//ˈkeɪ.ləb// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Caleb the son of Jephunneh, an Israelite who entered Canaan with Joshua.

    "Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."

  2. 2
    A male given name from Hebrew first used by Puritans.

    ""My brother's name was Caleb Peck." "What a fine old-fashioned name," said Mrs. Tabor."

Example

More examples

"At length a timid and hesitating voice replied: “Master—Master of Ravenswood, is it you?” “Yes, it is I, Caleb; open the door quickly.”"

Etymology

From Late Latin Caleb, Calebus, from Koine Greek Χάλεβ (Kháleb), from Biblical Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), possibly related to כֶּלֶב (keleḇ, “dog”), referring to the unconditional devotion of dogs to their masters.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.