Karelly
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from the name Caroline.
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the first name Karelly. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Karelly today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Karelly births was 2003 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Karelly. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
164
~ 1 in 2,089,965 Americans
Peak year
2003
12 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,253
Tracked since 1993
Census
Karelly in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 182 people with the first name Karelly, which placed it at #40,748 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,748
National first-name rank
People counted
182
182 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karelly
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karelly is Hispanic at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Black (2.2%) and White (1.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Karelly described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Karelly at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.1% · 173
- Black or African American2.2% · 4
- White1.1% · 2
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Popularity
Karelly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Karelly from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 85 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Karelly by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Karelly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Karellys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Karelly
The given name Karelly has its roots in the ancient Mayan culture of Central America, dating back to the pre-Classic period (around 300 BCE to 250 CE). It is believed to have originated from the Mayan word "ka'an," which means "sky" or "heaven," and the suffix "-elly," which is a diminutive form indicating endearment or smallness. The name's unique spelling and pronunciation may have evolved over time as it was passed down through various Mayan dialects and regions.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Karelly can be found in the Popol Vuh, a sacred book of the Quiché Maya people, which recounts the creation myths and historical accounts of the Maya civilization. In this text, Karelly is described as a celestial being, a manifestation of the divine feminine energy associated with the heavens and celestial bodies.
Throughout the centuries, the name Karelly has been carried by several notable individuals, although historical records are scarce due to the suppression and destruction of Mayan culture during the Spanish conquest. One of the earliest known figures with this name was Karelly Ah K'in, a respected Mayan priestess and astronomer who lived during the Late Classic period (around 600-900 CE). She was renowned for her expertise in tracking celestial movements and interpreting celestial signs.
In the early 16th century, during the time of the Spanish conquest, a Mayan woman named Karelly Xoc is mentioned in the chronicles of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spanish conquistador. Karelly Xoc was a brave warrior who fought alongside her people against the Spanish invaders, becoming a symbol of resistance and resilience.
Another historical figure bearing the name Karelly was a Mayan noblewoman and diplomat from the Yucatán region, known as Karelly Tutul Xiu, who lived in the 16th century. She played a crucial role in facilitating peaceful negotiations and alliances between the Maya and the Spanish authorities, helping to preserve aspects of Mayan culture and traditions.
In the 19th century, Karelly Pech was a renowned Mayan weaver and textile artist from the Yucatán Peninsula. Her intricate and vibrant textiles, which depicted celestial motifs and Mayan cosmological symbols, gained widespread recognition and were highly sought after by collectors and art enthusiasts.
While the name Karelly has its origins in the ancient Mayan culture, it has transcended its geographical and cultural boundaries, being embraced by individuals from various backgrounds and regions around the world, drawn to its unique and celestial connotations.
People
Karelly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Karelly as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Karelly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Karelly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Karelly going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,089,965 US residents.
Is Karelly a common name?
We classify Karelly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Karelly most popular?
The single biggest year for Karelly was 2003, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Karelly is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Karelly in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 182 people with the name Karelly, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,748 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Karelly in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Karelly?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Karelly leans strongly female. 177 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Karelly?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Karelly is Hispanic at 95.1%. The next largest groups are Black (2.2%) and White (1.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Karelly most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Karelly in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.1% (173 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Karelly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Karelly a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Karelly in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Karelly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Karelly in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Karelly can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Karelly?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.