Kelly
Kelly is given to both girls and boys: 319 girls and 84 boys were given it in 2025 (#852 among girls’ names and #1,881 among boys’, #1,367 among all names counting both); 556,365 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Kelly every year since 1957.
An estimated 507,000 Americans named Kelly and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (91% of everyone recorded); the median is 49 years old and half are between 40 and 58.
Kelly is the #47 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Kelly by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Kelly mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Kelly is “a female given name transferred from the surname, popular from the 1960s to the 1990s.”
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
Borrowed from Irish Ó Ceallaigh. Doublet of Kellogg and Callahan.
/ˈkɛli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Kelly?
#852 among girls’ names, 2025
Kelly fell from #480 in 2015 to #852 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.38 to 0.20 per 1,000.
20,197 babies in 1968, the peak
Kelly peaked in 1968, when 20,197 babies were given it (17,138 girls, #12 among girls’ names). The 403 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 2% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 319 | #852 | 84 | #1,881 |
| 2024 | 312 | #867 | 109 | #1,586 |
| 2023 | 362 | #779 | 94 | #1,753 |
| 2022 | 347 | #809 | 122 | #1,486 |
| 2021 | 324 | #850 | 114 | #1,542 |
| 2020 | 366 | #746 | 110 | #1,520 |
| 2019 | 448 | #652 | 107 | #1,570 |
| 2018 | 486 | #618 | 103 | #1,597 |
| 2017 | 504 | #597 | 115 | #1,473 |
| 2016 | 605 | #515 | 118 | #1,460 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 675 | #480 | 104 | #1,560 |
| 2014 | 740 | #433 | 105 | #1,528 |
| 2013 | 849 | #369 | 103 | #1,543 |
| 2012 | 892 | #357 | 106 | #1,521 |
| 2011 | 944 | #336 | 108 | #1,501 |
| 2010 | 1,061 | #306 | 101 | #1,571 |
| 2009 | 1,251 | #261 | 140 | #1,261 |
| 2008 | 1,399 | #248 | 113 | #1,459 |
| 2007 | 1,569 | #222 | 154 | #1,156 |
| 2006 | 1,611 | #212 | 139 | #1,208 |
| 2005 | 1,952 | #175 | 127 | #1,249 |
| 2004 | 2,357 | #138 | 160 | #1,025 |
| 2003 | 2,736 | #125 | 146 | #1,066 |
| 2002 | 2,852 | #119 | 185 | #883 |
| 2001 | 2,814 | #124 | 174 | #902 |
| 2000 | 3,077 | #111 | 202 | #797 |
| 1999 | 3,420 | #95 | 195 | #787 |
| 1998 | 3,703 | #90 | 240 | #698 |
| 1997 | 4,064 | #83 | 284 | #616 |
| 1996 | 4,734 | #73 | 339 | #551 |
| 1995 | 5,398 | #64 | 357 | #536 |
| 1994 | 5,446 | #62 | 385 | #514 |
| 1993 | 6,295 | #51 | 475 | #456 |
| 1992 | 7,012 | #47 | 534 | #417 |
| 1991 | 7,515 | #42 | 642 | #367 |
| 1990 | 8,137 | #41 | 687 | #351 |
| 1989 | 8,759 | #37 | 811 | #299 |
| 1988 | 8,917 | #32 | 740 | #307 |
| 1987 | 9,866 | #30 | 786 | #280 |
| 1986 | 10,411 | #29 | 873 | #255 |
| 1985 | 11,031 | #28 | 890 | #254 |
| 1984 | 11,216 | #27 | 985 | #228 |
| 1983 | 11,586 | #26 | 1,055 | #217 |
| 1982 | 12,170 | #25 | 1,270 | #197 |
| 1981 | 11,873 | #23 | 1,181 | #209 |
| 1980 | 13,710 | #19 | 1,183 | #210 |
| 1979 | 15,296 | #16 | 1,208 | #200 |
| 1978 | 16,976 | #12 | 1,308 | #180 |
| 1977 | 18,234 | #10 | 1,484 | #162 |
| 1976 | 11,791 | #19 | 1,540 | #158 |
| 1975 | 11,735 | #16 | 1,644 | #150 |
| 1974 | 10,851 | #15 | 1,758 | #143 |
| 1973 | 10,512 | #18 | 1,702 | #147 |
| 1972 | 10,944 | #23 | 1,917 | #140 |
| 1971 | 12,599 | #22 | 2,266 | #136 |
| 1970 | 14,607 | #20 | 2,494 | #135 |
| 1969 | 16,328 | #15 | 2,791 | #115 |
| 1968 | 17,138 | #12 | 3,059 | #97 |
| 1967 | 13,717 | #23 | 3,093 | #102 |
| 1966 | 13,242 | #26 | 2,784 | #111 |
| 1965 | 12,763 | #30 | 2,258 | #136 |
| 1964 | 12,470 | #35 | 2,492 | #132 |
| 1963 | 12,550 | #32 | 2,729 | #126 |
| 1962 | 11,530 | #38 | 2,855 | #125 |
| 1961 | 9,642 | #45 | 3,011 | #125 |
| 1960 | 8,673 | #52 | 2,934 | #128 |
| 1959 | 6,380 | #74 | 2,438 | #143 |
| 1958 | 4,471 | #108 | 2,299 | #148 |
| 1957 | 1,903 | #187 | 1,875 | #167 |
| 1956 | 830 | #309 | 1,468 | #190 |
| 1955 | 539 | #379 | 1,250 | #204 |
| 1954 | 453 | #405 | 965 | #224 |
| 1953 | 226 | #589 | 845 | #233 |
| 1952 | 296 | #489 | 805 | #235 |
| 1951 | 163 | #683 | 701 | #252 |
| 1950 | 97 | #903 | 488 | #307 |
| 1949 | 117 | #804 | 510 | #299 |
| 1948 | 83 | #958 | 379 | #346 |
| 1947 | 73 | #1,041 | 351 | #368 |
| 1946 | 51 | #1,213 | 283 | #389 |
| 1945 | 51 | #1,105 | 240 | #385 |
| 1944 | 60 | #1,011 | 275 | #363 |
| 1943 | 36 | #1,381 | 275 | #369 |
| 1942 | 36 | #1,359 | 249 | #385 |
| 1941 | 28 | #1,486 | 160 | #470 |
| 1940 | 24 | #1,613 | 142 | #485 |
| 1939 | 10 | #2,816 | 153 | #467 |
| 1938 | 18 | #1,908 | 137 | #497 |
| 1937 | 14 | #2,256 | 126 | #515 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,329 | 138 | #481 |
| 1935 | 13 | #2,369 | 125 | #515 |
| 1934 | 11 | #2,651 | 144 | #474 |
| 1933 | 12 | #2,473 | 120 | #516 |
| 1932 | 14 | #2,305 | 105 | #579 |
| 1931 | 9 | #3,102 | 129 | #506 |
| 1930 | 13 | #2,484 | 117 | #556 |
| 1929 | 11 | #2,834 | 141 | #496 |
| 1928 | 11 | #2,875 | 128 | #539 |
| 1927 | 10 | #3,174 | 132 | #534 |
| 1926 | 12 | #2,801 | 123 | #548 |
| 1925 | 15 | #2,437 | 121 | #562 |
| 1924 | 10 | #3,256 | 125 | #570 |
| 1923 | 10 | #3,240 | 111 | #603 |
| 1922 | 13 | #2,679 | 141 | #523 |
| 1921 | 15 | #2,436 | 133 | #541 |
| 1920 | 11 | #3,002 | 121 | #566 |
| 1919 | 8 | #3,631 | 144 | #496 |
| 1918 | 14 | #2,441 | 118 | #554 |
| 1917 | 8 | #3,517 | 131 | #501 |
| 1916 | 9 | #3,146 | 90 | #616 |
| 1915 | 5 | #4,612 | 101 | #566 |
| 1914 | 11 | #2,191 | 92 | #511 |
| 1913 | under 5 | 63 | #547 | |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,504 | 57 | #527 |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,669 | 41 | #459 |
| 1910 | 6 | #2,286 | 46 | #386 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,870 | 26 | #512 |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,274 | 25 | #508 |
| 1907 | 5 | #2,215 | 29 | #433 |
| 1906 | under 5 | 20 | #512 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 11 | #771 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 13 | #666 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 21 | #461 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 16 | #546 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 12 | #622 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 33 | #390 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 9 | #755 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 10 | #721 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 15 | #537 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 14 | #573 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 23 | #406 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 12 | #611 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 21 | #396 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 18 | #470 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 9 | #674 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 11 | #621 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 17 | #451 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 10 | #676 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 13 | #500 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 16 | #462 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 15 | #492 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 10 | #640 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 12 | #543 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 13 | #526 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 8 | #676 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 5 | #995 |
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 Kelly a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 556,365 Americans recorded as Kelly, 85% are girls and 15% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Kelly: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Kelly, and how old are they?
507,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 91% of the 556,365 Americans ever recorded as Kelly. The median Kelly alive today is 49 years old; half are between 40 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 499,222 people named Kelly (437,520 women and girls, 61,702 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 517,773 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 826 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 80,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 233,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 148,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 37,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 7,680 |
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 Kelly born?
The states with the most babies named Kelly are California, New York and Ohio, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 55,235 | #678 | 0.9× |
| New York | 38,660 | #468 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 32,595 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 32,550 | #1,060 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 29,867 | #964 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 28,705 | #886 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 27,830 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 18,615 | #988 | 1.1× |
| Florida | 17,970 | #664 | 0.9× |
| Wisconsin | 15,100 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Kelly is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Kelly is most over-represented in Minnesota: since 1910 it was given 1.2 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 Kelly 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 771,815 babies since 1880, Kelly is the most given (72% of them). In 2025 it was given to 403 of their 1,128 babies (36%), again the most given.
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 Kelly
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 Kelly and names like it
- Compare Kelly and KelliBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sKelly peaked in 1968.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Kelly since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Kelly: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1968The year the most babies were named Kelly.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Kelly alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with KMost given first.