Kelli
Small and bright, derived from a Celtic origin.
Name Census estimates that about 68,053 living Americans carry the first name Kelli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kelli today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelli births was 1970 (3,344 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelli. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kelli with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Kelli is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 301 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1970s, recent registration numbers for Kelli have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
68K
~ 1 in 5,037 Americans
Peak year
1970
3,344 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1998 SSA rank
#7,392
Tracked since 1945
Census
Kelli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 66,654 people with the first name Kelli, which placed it at #756 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
#756
National first-name rank
People counted
67K
66,654 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
22.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelli is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kelli 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 Kelli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 57,981
- Black or African American5.7% · 3,778
- Two or more races3.1% · 2,060
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 1,655
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 722
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 458
Gender
Gender distribution for Kelli
Out of the 75,176 babies given the name Kelli since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Kelli as a male name
- Ranked #10,498 in 1998
- 5 male births in 1998
- Peak: 1981 (21 births)
Kelli as a female name
- Ranked #7,392 in 2024
- 15 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1970 (3,331 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelli appears almost entirely female. Of the 66,659 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Kelli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelli from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 21,639 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kelli 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 Kelli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kellis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kelli, while Delaware, Vermont, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,429 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kelli
The name Kelli originated as an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Cailín, which means "young girl" or "little girl." The name has its roots in the Celtic languages spoken in ancient Ireland and parts of Scotland. It was initially a diminutive form of the Irish name Cáel or Cáel, meaning "slender" or "thin."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Kelli can be traced back to the 16th century in Ireland. It gained popularity in the English-speaking world during the 20th century as a modern variation of the traditional Irish name Cailín.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Kelli. One of the most famous was Kelli O'Hara, an American actress and singer born in 1976. She is best known for her work on Broadway, having starred in musicals such as "The Bridges of Madison County" and "The King and I."
Another prominent figure was Kelli Williams, an American actress born in 1970. She is best known for her role as Lindsay Dole Donnell on the television series "The Practice" and its spin-off "Boston Legal."
In the world of sports, Kelli Kuehne, an American golfer born in 1978, achieved success on the LPGA Tour, winning four tournaments during her career.
The name Kelli also has historical ties to literature. Kelli Marie, an American author born in 1971, is known for her works of fiction and poetry, including the novel "The Journal."
Additionally, Kelli Rae Wilson, an American singer-songwriter born in 1965, made a name for herself in the country music genre, releasing several albums and singles throughout her career.
While the name Kelli originated from the Irish Gaelic language, it has gained widespread popularity and recognition across various cultures and regions, with numerous individuals leaving their mark in various fields throughout history.
People
Kelli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelli 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
Kelli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 68,053 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelli 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 5,037 US residents.
Is Kelli a common name?
We classify Kelli as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 75,176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelli most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelli was 1970, when 3,344 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelli is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kelli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 66,654 people with the name Kelli, or 22.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #756 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 Kelli 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 Kelli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelli appears almost entirely female. Of the 66,659 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Kelli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelli is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (5.7%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Kelli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (57,981 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 Kelli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kelli a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Kelli 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 Kelli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kelli 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 Kelli 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 Kelli?
Find out how many people have the name Kelli on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.