Kelly

Primarily a girl's name · 98% 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 1996 and has been recorded in 21 different years as a girl's name. Its single biggest year was 1996 with 789 babies (rank #74 that year). It was not in the 2024 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.

4,136

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

789

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
1996	789	#74
1997	621	#82
1998	378	#121
1999	296	#154
2000	278	#161
2001	250	#171
2002	193	#222
2003	190	#237
2004	178	#252
2005	124	#330
2006	128	#339
2007	80	#491
2008	97	#439
2009	95	#439
2010	69	#580
2011	61	#656
2012	59	#704
2013	44	#860
2014	43	#879
2015	31	#1,127
2016	38	#964