Kelly
The Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, from a name usually read as “bright-headed” or “troublesome.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
An Irish surname that Grace Kelly's stardom helped convert into a girls' given name in the 1950s and 60s.
Kelly appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1959 to 1999. Its biggest year was 1977, when 18,234 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 10 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 851 for girls. The name has also seen real use for boys: 82,400 of the 556,365 Americans given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Kelli (75,192), Kelley (52,385), Kellie (51,108), Keely (12,719), Keeley (6,741), Keily (5,360) (total births since 1880)
Explore Kelly interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 17 | No. 1763 |
| 1910s | 73 | No. 2125 |
| 1920s | 118 | No. 2378 |
| 1930s | 127 | No. 1873 |
| 1940s | 559 | No. 804 |
| 1950s | 15,358 | No. 74 |
| 1960s | 128,053 | No. 12 |
| 1970s | 133,545 | No. 10 |
| 1980s | 109,539 | No. 19 |
| 1990s | 55,724 | No. 41 |
| 2000s | 21,618 | No. 111 |
| 2010s | 7,204 | No. 306 |
| 2020s | 2,030 | No. 745 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.