Kelcy
A gender-neutral name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from Celtic roots.
Name Census estimates that about 993 living Americans carry the first name Kelcy. It is a predominantly female name (92.6% of registrations). The average person named Kelcy today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelcy births was 1993 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelcy. 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
993
~ 1 in 345,171 Americans
Peak year
1993
66 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,488
Tracked since 1930
Gender
Gender distribution for Kelcy
Kelcy leans heavily female at 92.6% of total registrations, but 77 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kelcy as a male name
- Ranked #9,488 in 1993
- 5 male births in 1993
- Peak: 1985 (9 births)
Kelcy as a female name
- Ranked #12,753 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (61 births)
Popularity
Kelcy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelcy from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 468 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kelcy 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 Kelcy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kelcys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Kelcy, while Ohio, Missouri, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kelcy
The name Kelcy is a relatively modern and uncommon given name. Its origins are uncertain, but it is believed to be an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Celsus or Celcius, which means "heavenly" or "celestial." This name was borne by several early Christian saints, including Saint Celsus, a 2nd-century martyr from Trier, Germany.
Kelcy may also be a variant of the Welsh name Kelsie, which is derived from the Old English name Caelesta, meaning "heavenly." This name was popular among medieval English Christians who wished to express their devotion to the heavens and the divine.
The earliest recorded use of the name Kelcy is thought to be in the late 19th century, but it did not become widely used until the 20th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Kelcy Caplinger, an American baseball player who was born in 1892 and played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1910s.
Other notable individuals named Kelcy throughout history include Kelcy L. Morton, an American businessman who founded the energy company Energy Transfer Partners in 1995. Kelcy Quarles, an American football player who was born in 1991 and played for the New York Giants and the New England Patriots in the National Football League (NFL).
Kelcy Chase, an American actress and model who appeared in several films and television shows in the 1990s and 2000s, is another noteworthy bearer of the name. Kelcy Griffith, an American singer and songwriter who released her debut album in 2007, and Kelcy Pegler Jr., an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Pegler-Whitney Foundation in the mid-20th century, are also worth mentioning.
While not as common as many other given names, Kelcy has a unique and intriguing history that spans several cultures and time periods. Its celestial associations and connection to early Christian figures make it a name with a rich heritage and spiritual significance.
People
Kelcy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelcy 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
Kelcy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelcy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 993 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelcy 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 345,171 US residents.
Is Kelcy a common name?
We classify Kelcy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,039 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelcy most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelcy was 1993, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelcy is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kelcy a female name?
Yes, 92.6% of people registered as Kelcy 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.
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.