Kelly

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Kelly, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Leslie
• Shannon
• Courtney
• Casey
• Lindsay
• Ashley
• Lesley
• Lindsey
• Jamie
• Jody
• Jordan
• Tracy

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Kelly is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, Colombia, Argentina

  Also written Këlly, Këllÿ, Kêlly, K'Elly, Kélly

• a separate name2 spellings in the group
• French given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, Canada

  Also written Kélly, Këlly, Këllÿ, Kèlly, Kęllÿ

• Indonesian given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Kelly, Kélly

• Greek given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Kelli, Keli, Κέλλυ, Κελλυ, Κελι

• a separate given name7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy

  Also written Këlly, Kellý, Kélly, Këllÿ, Kęllÿ

86 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Kelly is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, for O'Kelly, Irish Ó Ceallaigh 'descendant of Ceallach' ('war'); also MacKelly, or local from Kelly near Arbroath, Kellie in Fife, or Kelly (Devon) from Cornish celli 'wood, grove'; first attested McKelly 1429

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In English, Irish surname now used as a feminine and masculine first name; meaning uncertain.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In French, From Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, meaning 'descendant of Ceallach'.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, From Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh; 'warrior'.

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• Anglicized form of Gaelic 6 Ceallaigh ‘descendant of Ceallach', an ancient Irish personal name, originally a byname meaning ‘bright-headed’, later understood as ‘frequenting churches’ (Irish ceall). There are several early Irish saints who bore this name. Kelly is now the most common of all Irish family names in Ireland.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Kelly Bishopb. 1944USAmerican actress
• Kelly McGillisb. 1957USAmerican actress
• Kelly Prestonb. 1962USAmerican actress (1962–2020)
• Kelly Hub. 1968USAmerican actress
• Kelly Holmesb. 1970GBBritish middle distance athlete and Olympic gold medallist
• Kelly Macdonaldb. 1976GBScottish actress
• Kelly Reillyb. 1977GBBritish actress
• Kelly Brookb. 1979GBBritish actress and model
• Jennifer Tisdaleb. 1981USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Kelly Rohrbachb. 1990USAmerican actress, model, and professional golfer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Is Kelly a male or female name?

Kelly is a female name. National registers that list it by sex list it as female: United States (Census Bureau, 2020), Brazil (IBGE, 2022), France (INSEE, 2024) and Ecuador (INEC, 2024), among others.

What does the name Kelly mean, and where does it come from?

(i) also Kelley from Irish Gaelic O Ceallaigh, ‘descendant of Ceallach’, a nickname meaning ‘bright-headed’; (ii) from places named Kelly in Scotland or Devon, from Gaelic coille ‘wood, grove’. Recorded by Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history].

What are other forms of the name Kelly?

In the etymology graph, Kelli, Kellie and Kelleigh are forms of the same name in other languages.

In which country does Kelly have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 499 thousand people named Kelly, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled kelly.

How do you pronounce Kelly?

A machine transcription gives /kɛli/ (IPA) for English.

How common is the name Kelly?

In the United States, the national register counted 499,222 people named Kelly in 2020, about 1 in 666 residents.

How common is Kelly compared with other names?

In the United States, Kelly is the 68th most common given name of 2,815,431 given names recorded there.