Kelley
A feminine given name meaning "bright-headed" or "having bright hair".
Name Census estimates that about 45,625 living Americans carry the first name Kelley. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Kelley today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelley births was 1968 (2,086 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelley. 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.
Key insights
- • Kelley started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Kelley have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
46K
~ 1 in 7,512 Americans
Peak year
1968
2,086 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,774
Tracked since 1882
Gender
Gender distribution for Kelley
Kelley leans heavily female at 88.0% of total registrations, but 6,277 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kelley as a male name
- Ranked #9,416 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1968 (168 births)
Kelley as a female name
- Ranked #6,774 in 2024
- 17 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1968 (1,918 births)
Popularity
Kelley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelley from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 16,118 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kelley 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 Kelley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kelleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kelley, while Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 897 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kelley
The name Kelley is an English given name derived from the Old Irish Gaelic word "cailleach," which means "veiled one" or "nun." It is believed to have originated as a descriptive term for a woman who wore a veil or headdress, possibly as a symbol of religious devotion or modesty.
The name Kelley is closely related to the Irish surname Kelly, which has its roots in the ancient Gaelic clan Ó Ceallaigh. This clan was prominent in various parts of Ireland, particularly in the counties of Galway, Roscommon, and Sligo, during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kelley can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written in the early 17th century. The annals mention several individuals with the surname Kelly, including Tadhg Ó Ceallaigh, who was a notable poet and historian in the 15th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the given name Kelley. One of the most famous was Kelley Wearstler, an American interior designer born in 1967. She is renowned for her eclectic and distinctive design style, and has worked on numerous high-profile projects for celebrities and luxury brands.
Another notable Kelley was Kelley Jones, an American comic book artist born in 1962. He is best known for his work on various Batman titles for DC Comics, where he developed a distinct and moody artistic style that captured the dark and gothic atmosphere of Gotham City.
In the world of sports, Kelley Sheehan was an American professional golfer born in 1976. She won several tournaments on the LPGA Tour and represented the United States in the Solheim Cup, a prestigious team event between the top female golfers from Europe and the United States.
Kelley Stoltz is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in 1975. He is known for his eclectic blend of indie rock, pop, and psychedelic influences, and has released several critically acclaimed albums since the early 2000s.
Finally, Kelley Morse was an American artist and illustrator born in 1928. She is renowned for her vibrant and whimsical illustrations, which often featured anthropomorphic animals and magical scenes. Her work has appeared in numerous children's books and magazines throughout her career.
People
Kelley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelley 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
Kelley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 45,625 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelley 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 7,512 US residents.
Is Kelley a common name?
We classify Kelley as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52,361 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelley most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelley was 1968, when 2,086 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelley is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kelley a female name?
Yes, 88.0% of people registered as Kelley 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.