ninan.org

Kelly

Girls' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~515,700 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#851 among girls
Births in 2025
403 556,365 since 1880
Typical age
48 years, median

Kelly popularity over time

Kelly rank by birth year, 1907–2025Kelly ranked #2,061 in 1907 and #851 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #10, in 1977.#10#100#1,000#851best #10 in 1977192019401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1907–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Kelly was used most in 1968, when 20,197 babies were given the name. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Across the record, 41 years put Kelly in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #851 with 403 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 48%. It climbed 16 places against the previous year.

Babies named Kelly per yearPeaks at 20,197 births in 1968.20,197 in 1968018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Kelly?

About 515,700 people named Kelly are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 556,365 births under the name since 1880. The split is about 448,700 women and 66,900 men.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Kelly?

The typical living Kelly is 48 years old. Most living bearers were born in the 1970s. By the site’s era rules that makes Kelly a late 20th-century name.

Your Kelly

Ages of living people named KellyHalf of living Kellys are older than 48 and half younger.median 48020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Kelly is most common

Relative to births, New Jersey carries 1.6× the national share of Kellys. New York, Maryland and Florida follow.

Where Kelly is used more than average5 states use the name Kelly more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 1.6× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.6× the national rateNJConnecticut: 1.4× the national rateCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.5× the national rateMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.4× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Kelly is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
New Jersey 184 1.6×
New York 407 1.6×
Maryland 107 1.5×
Florida 387 1.4×
Connecticut 54 1.4×

Is Kelly a boy's or a girl's name?

85% girls15% boys
Share of all recorded US births under this name, 1880 to the latest year.

Mostly given to girls: 20.9% of the last ten years of births were boys. Across the whole record, 85.2% of births under the name were girls. The dominant sex is not the same at the end of the record as at the start.

Kelly in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Kelly ranked #2,006 in 2025 on 14 births. That is 39% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Kelly comes from

Borrowed from Irish Ó Ceallaigh. Doublet of Kellogg, Callahan.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Kelly

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Kelly Clarkson American singer-songwriter 1982 85
Kelly Preston American actress 1962–2020 56
Kelly Brook British actress and model 1979 48
Kelly Macdonald Scottish actress 1976 46
Kelly Hu American actress 1968 43
Kelly Osbourne British singer and actress 1984 42
Kelly McGillis American actress 1957 39
Kelly Marie Tran American actress 1989 38
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 3,778 in 1957 to 6,770 in 1958 — 1.8 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/kelly.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).