Kelsay
A variant form of the English name Kelsey, itself derived from the Scottish surname Kelsall meaning "from the chalky field".
Name Census estimates that about 216 living Americans carry the first name Kelsay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kelsay today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kelsay births was 1992 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kelsay. 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 Kelsay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
216
~ 1 in 1,586,826 Americans
Peak year
1992
21 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2008 SSA rank
#19,038
Tracked since 1987
Census
Kelsay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 270 people with the first name Kelsay, which placed it at #31,633 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
#31,633
National first-name rank
People counted
270
270 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelsay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelsay is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Kelsay 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 Kelsay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 236
- Black or African American3.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 4
Popularity
Kelsay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kelsay from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 151 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
Kelsay 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 Kelsay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kelsays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kelsay
The name Kelsay has its origins in the Scottish Gaelic language and can be traced back to the late 15th century. It is derived from the Gaelic word 'cailleach,' which means 'old woman' or 'nun.' The name was likely given as a descriptive nickname or a term of respect for an elderly or devout woman.
In the early 16th century, the name Kelsay appeared in various Scottish records and historical documents, including parish records and clan registers. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in 1523, when a woman named Kelsay MacDonald was mentioned in the annals of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, a prominent Scottish clan.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Kelsay was predominantly found in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, particularly in the regions of Argyll, Ross-shire, and Inverness-shire. It was often associated with families and clans of Scottish Gaelic descent, such as the MacDonalds, MacKenzies, and Campbells.
In the 18th century, the name Kelsay gained some historical significance when it was mentioned in the memoirs of Jacobite soldiers who fought in the Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745. These memoirs recount the bravery and loyalty of a woman named Kelsay MacKenzie, who aided the Jacobite cause during the tumultuous period of the Scottish uprisings against the English crown.
Some notable individuals who bore the name Kelsay throughout history include:
1. Kelsay MacLeod (c. 1620 - 1698), a renowned Scottish poet and bard from the Isle of Skye, known for her poignant compositions in Gaelic.
2. Kelsay Campbell (1745 - 1818), a Scottish Jacobite soldier who fought alongside Bonnie Prince Charlie during the 1745 Jacobite Rising.
3. Kelsay MacDonald (1780 - 1856), a Scottish Highland weaver and folk singer, renowned for her extensive repertoire of traditional Gaelic songs.
4. Kelsay MacKenzie (1825 - 1892), a Scottish-American pioneer who settled in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States in the mid-19th century.
5. Kelsay Gillespie (1870 - 1945), a Scottish-Canadian educator and advocate for women's rights, who played a significant role in establishing educational opportunities for girls in rural areas of British Columbia.
While the name Kelsay has its roots in Scottish Gaelic culture, it has since spread to other parts of the English-speaking world, particularly through Scottish immigration to North America and other regions. However, the name remains relatively uncommon and continues to hold significance as a traditional Scottish Gaelic name with a rich historical heritage.
People
Kelsay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kelsay 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
Kelsay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kelsay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 216 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kelsay 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 1,586,826 US residents.
Is Kelsay a common name?
We classify Kelsay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 223 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kelsay most popular?
The single biggest year for Kelsay was 1992, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kelsay is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kelsay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 270 people with the name Kelsay, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,633 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 Kelsay 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 Kelsay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kelsay leans strongly female. 252 people counted with this name were female (94.4%), compared with 15 male bearers (5.6%). 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 Kelsay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kelsay is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Kelsay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kelsay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (236 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 Kelsay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kelsay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kelsay 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 Kelsay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kelsay 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 Kelsay 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 Americans are named Kelsay?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Kelsay at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.