Find out how popular the last name Kellison is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kellison.

Kellison, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kellison surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kellison in America

Kellison is the 21535th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kellison surname appeared 1,212 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kellison.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kellison to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kellison

The surname Kellison originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "cyl" meaning a kiln or furnace, and "tun" meaning a farm or settlement. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a kiln or worked as a kiln operator.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1195, where a William de Kilneston is mentioned. This spelling variation, along with others like Kilneston and Kylneston, were common in early records before the standardization of surnames.

The Kellison name is also found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, an ancient census-like record of landowners and their holdings. In these rolls, a Robert de Kilneston is listed as holding lands in Warwickshire.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name appeared to be concentrated in the Midlands region of England, particularly in counties like Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Leicestershire.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir Ralph Kellison (c.1350-1420), a knight who served under King Henry IV during the latter part of the Hundred Years' War. He was granted lands in Staffordshire for his military service.

Another significant figure was John Kellison (1570-1641), a Catholic priest and theologian who founded the English College at Douai, France, which trained priests for the English mission during the period of Catholic persecution in England.

In the 17th century, the spelling of the name began to settle into its modern form of Kellison. William Kellison (1615-1680) was an English clergyman and author who served as the Vicar of Beckley in Oxfordshire.

Later, in the 18th century, James Kellison (1738-1812) was a prominent merchant and landowner in Yorkshire, owning estates in the village of Kellison near Ripon.

The Kellison surname also spread to other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland, although it remained relatively rare compared to its prevalence in England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kellison

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kellison.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kellison was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kellison has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kellison was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kellison, please contact us.

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