Kelly

Primarily a girl's name · 100% girls

Meaning

Kelly is a unisex given name derived from an Anglicized version of the Irish masculine name Ceallach or a transferred use of the Irish surname O'Ceallaigh.

From Wikipedia

Kelly first appears in the data in 1964 and has been recorded in 35 different years as a girl's name. Its single biggest year was 1979 with 829 babies (rank #7 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Kelly

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Kelly yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

2Destiny numberThe peacemakerDiplomatic, sensitive, partnership-minded.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
3Soul urgeThe creativeExpressive, sociable, lifted by playful energy.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
8PersonalityThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

11,628

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

829

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Girls

Also a character in

In The Office (US): Kelly Kapoor — customer service

Famous people named Kelly

Kelly Clarksonpop singer · b. 1982
Kelly Prestonfilm actor · b. 1962
Kelly Brookfilm actor · b. 1979
Kelly Macdonaldfilm actor · b. 1976
Kelly Hubeauty pageant contestant · b. 1968

More popular girls' names

Other girls' names starting with K

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all girls' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1964	82	#96
1966	99	#92
1967	154	#75
1968	256	#52
1969	357	#36
1970	335	#43
1971	328	#47
1972	437	#33
1973	487	#25
1974	444	#24
1975	441	#22
1976	417	#23
1977	608	#11
1978	735	#10
1979	829	#7
1980	699	#9
1981	698	#8
1982	634	#12
1983	510	#18
1984	450	#22
1985	441	#22
1986	295	#34
1987	307	#33
1988	268	#39
1989	275	#41
1990	225	#48
1991	201	#54
1992	178	#69
1993	187	#70
1994	63	#103
1995	135	#87
1999	45	#112
2014	3	#494
2016	3	#461
2017	1	#1,815