Kelly

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Kelley in SG Singapore, RU Russia, IL Israel and 1 more, Kellie in NZ New Zealand, IE Ireland, Keli in IN India and Këlly in EC Ecuador.

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

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

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 name672K records spelled Kelly30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela

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

• a separate given name371K records spelled Kelly2 spellings in the group

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

• French given name259K records spelled Kelly8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Belgium, United Kingdom

  Also written Kélly, Këlly, Këllÿ, Kęllÿ, Kèlly

• Indonesian given name27K records spelled Kelly4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Kelly, Kélly

• Greek given name19K records spelled Kelly8 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Kelli, Keli, Κέλλυ, Κελλυ, Κελι

• a separate given name11K records spelled Kelly7 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Këlly, Kélly, Kellý, Këllÿ, Kêlly

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.

Other recorded senses●

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.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• 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).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,804 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Kelly?

We estimate roughly 596 thousand people bear Kelly (counting its spellings and scripts) across 8 countries in our records.

In which country does Kelly have the most bearers?

Kelly is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled kelly.

How common is Kelly compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Kelly is the 78th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Kelly a male or female name?

Kelly is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Kelly mean?

Recorded meaning: (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’.