Kelley
Kelley is given to both girls and boys: 15 girls and 9 boys were given it in 2025 (#7,320 among girls’ names and #8,597 among boys’, #9,229 among all names counting both); 52,385 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Kelley every year since 1954.
An estimated 47,100 Americans named Kelley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 51 years old and half are between 41 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kelley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kelley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kelley is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.”
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kelley?
#7,320 among girls’ names, 2025
Kelley fell from #4,919 in 2015 to #7,320 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 15.7 to 9.3 per million.
2,086 babies in 1968, the peak
Kelley peaked in 1968, when 2,086 babies were given it (1,918 girls, #168 among girls’ names). The 24 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #7,320 | 9 | #8,597 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,800 | 8 | #9,440 |
| 2023 | 17 | #6,791 | 14 | #6,354 |
| 2022 | 17 | #6,850 | 12 | #7,033 |
| 2021 | 20 | #6,064 | 19 | #5,022 |
| 2020 | 29 | #4,605 | 15 | #5,842 |
| 2019 | 24 | #5,370 | 19 | #5,054 |
| 2018 | 29 | #4,711 | 20 | #4,841 |
| 2017 | 22 | #5,744 | 16 | #5,664 |
| 2016 | 22 | #5,889 | 18 | #5,227 |
Every recorded year (135)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28 | #4,919 | 15 | #5,877 |
| 2014 | 39 | #3,880 | 9 | #8,476 |
| 2013 | 27 | #5,071 | 18 | #5,075 |
| 2012 | 46 | #3,498 | 15 | #5,853 |
| 2011 | 38 | #3,962 | 22 | #4,437 |
| 2010 | 54 | #3,096 | 17 | #5,368 |
| 2009 | 54 | #3,147 | 16 | #5,699 |
| 2008 | 63 | #2,842 | 21 | #4,628 |
| 2007 | 65 | #2,805 | 20 | #4,724 |
| 2006 | 89 | #2,174 | 22 | #4,300 |
| 2005 | 73 | #2,415 | 16 | #5,160 |
| 2004 | 106 | #1,802 | 19 | #4,508 |
| 2003 | 129 | #1,513 | 24 | #3,677 |
| 2002 | 171 | #1,193 | 20 | #4,121 |
| 2001 | 155 | #1,271 | 32 | #2,895 |
| 2000 | 206 | #1,022 | 31 | #2,887 |
| 1999 | 235 | #900 | 35 | #2,526 |
| 1998 | 275 | #782 | 24 | #3,240 |
| 1997 | 296 | #723 | 27 | #2,862 |
| 1996 | 351 | #639 | 32 | #2,456 |
| 1995 | 420 | #556 | 37 | #2,190 |
| 1994 | 498 | #498 | 48 | #1,806 |
| 1993 | 570 | #439 | 34 | #2,268 |
| 1992 | 703 | #364 | 64 | #1,440 |
| 1991 | 700 | #368 | 57 | #1,533 |
| 1990 | 887 | #308 | 59 | #1,475 |
| 1989 | 957 | #281 | 93 | #1,095 |
| 1988 | 1,126 | #234 | 62 | #1,310 |
| 1987 | 1,196 | #226 | 64 | #1,208 |
| 1986 | 1,001 | #258 | 73 | #1,094 |
| 1985 | 761 | #315 | 75 | #1,071 |
| 1984 | 796 | #298 | 67 | #1,102 |
| 1983 | 908 | #265 | 63 | #1,138 |
| 1982 | 1,007 | #251 | 90 | #947 |
| 1981 | 952 | #261 | 97 | #910 |
| 1980 | 1,084 | #236 | 111 | #839 |
| 1979 | 1,201 | #217 | 80 | #997 |
| 1978 | 1,363 | #189 | 85 | #942 |
| 1977 | 1,502 | #181 | 87 | #911 |
| 1976 | 1,100 | #220 | 118 | #765 |
| 1975 | 1,169 | #211 | 101 | #828 |
| 1974 | 1,208 | #207 | 116 | #753 |
| 1973 | 1,201 | #212 | 97 | #803 |
| 1972 | 1,217 | #227 | 102 | #794 |
| 1971 | 1,287 | #234 | 141 | #699 |
| 1970 | 1,497 | #212 | 132 | #716 |
| 1969 | 1,686 | #190 | 148 | #650 |
| 1968 | 1,918 | #168 | 168 | #589 |
| 1967 | 1,583 | #202 | 132 | #650 |
| 1966 | 1,516 | #208 | 135 | #638 |
| 1965 | 1,461 | #222 | 110 | #714 |
| 1964 | 1,537 | #221 | 123 | #696 |
| 1963 | 1,481 | #224 | 116 | #728 |
| 1962 | 1,311 | #243 | 137 | #666 |
| 1961 | 1,250 | #249 | 146 | #649 |
| 1960 | 1,004 | #289 | 155 | #626 |
| 1959 | 817 | #331 | 144 | #641 |
| 1958 | 650 | #362 | 150 | #627 |
| 1957 | 291 | #562 | 107 | #725 |
| 1956 | 159 | #782 | 108 | #708 |
| 1955 | 90 | #1,065 | 74 | #858 |
| 1954 | 73 | #1,171 | 65 | #924 |
| 1953 | 46 | #1,449 | 78 | #815 |
| 1952 | 52 | #1,344 | 65 | #874 |
| 1951 | 36 | #1,588 | 54 | #955 |
| 1950 | 23 | #2,023 | 46 | #1,044 |
| 1949 | 12 | #3,084 | 36 | #1,192 |
| 1948 | 12 | #3,056 | 31 | #1,308 |
| 1947 | 9 | #3,868 | 46 | #1,075 |
| 1946 | 5 | #5,324 | 44 | #1,039 |
| 1945 | 13 | #2,533 | 36 | #1,094 |
| 1944 | 6 | #4,294 | 32 | #1,181 |
| 1943 | 7 | #4,001 | 31 | #1,251 |
| 1942 | 7 | #3,928 | 40 | #1,079 |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,729 | 33 | #1,163 |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,707 | 30 | #1,239 |
| 1939 | under 5 | 24 | #1,377 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 22 | #1,459 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 23 | #1,427 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 18 | #1,615 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 37 | #1,068 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 17 | #1,756 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 20 | #1,568 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 21 | #1,563 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 26 | #1,377 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 25 | #1,481 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 28 | #1,357 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 28 | #1,403 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 32 | #1,312 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 31 | #1,314 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 30 | #1,349 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 24 | #1,601 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 29 | #1,371 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 28 | #1,420 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 33 | #1,285 | |
| 1920 | 5 | #5,357 | 46 | #1,026 |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,524 | 34 | #1,220 |
| 1918 | under 5 | 31 | #1,274 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 32 | #1,211 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 30 | #1,228 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 33 | #1,137 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 17 | #1,526 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 22 | #1,093 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 18 | #1,121 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 16 | #847 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 11 | #1,011 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 7 | #1,217 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 11 | #857 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 9 | #963 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,337 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 8 | #965 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 5 | #1,306 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 11 | #712 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 8 | #813 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 17 | #609 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 6 | #1,066 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 9 | #760 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 6 | #1,021 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 6 | #972 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 5 | #1,083 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 6 | #991 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 6 | #876 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 6 | #907 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 6 | #919 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 5 | #1,019 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Kelley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 52,385 Americans recorded as Kelley, 88% are girls and 12% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Kelley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kelley, and how old are they?
47,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 52,385 Americans ever recorded as Kelley. The median Kelley alive today is 51 years old; half are between 41 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 45,163 people named Kelley (41,153 women and girls, 4,010 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 48,232 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 126 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,730 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 13,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,380 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 495 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Kelley born?
The states with the most babies named Kelley are California, Texas and Ohio, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 5,151 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Texas | 3,820 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 2,968 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New York | 2,188 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Michigan | 2,162 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 1,931 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,875 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 1,810 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Florida | 1,683 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 1,516 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Kelley is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kelley is most over-represented in New Hampshire: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Kelley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 763,600 babies since 1880, Kelley is the third most given (6.9% of them). In 2025 it was given to 24 of their 855 babies (2.8%), the fifth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Kelley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Kelley and names like it
- Compare Kelley and KellyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sKelley peaked in 1968.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kelley since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Kelley: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1968The year the most babies were named Kelley.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Kelley alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with KMost given first.