Kelly

Did you know?

A few things about Kelly you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Kelly

Kelly Clarkson

American singer-songwriter (born 1982)

Choose Kelly and your child shares a first name with Kelly Clarkson, an American singer-songwriter. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Kelly, like who?” Kelly Clarkson's Wikipedia article is available in 86 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Kelly Clarkson on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Stephen Schester/Carlin Leslie, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 5,038 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Kelly, 319 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Kelly would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryKelly has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Kellys, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1977, when it ranked #10. Today it's #851, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowKelly was 8.5× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 590 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 5,038.
• 🍂TrendKelly has slipped 106 places over the last five years and now sits at #851. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedKelly is most popular in Massachusetts, where it ranks #444, followed by Connecticut (#459) and Maryland (#459). It's in the top 1,000 in 16 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlKelly is given to both boys and girls: 79% of the 403 babies named Kelly in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.

About the name Kelly

Kelly is a gender-neutral name of Celtic and Irish origin. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with K and ending in “-lly”. US birth records list Kelly for girls from 1907 to 2025, in 118 of those 119 years. Its best year was 1977, when it ranked #10 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #851, with 319 babies. Of the 403 US babies named Kelly in 2025, 79% were girls and 21% were boys.

Origin:Celtic namesIrish names