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

Kelty, 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 Kelty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kelty in America

Kelty is the 14691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kelty surname appeared 2,024 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kelty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kelty 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 Kelty

The surname Kelty has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Scottish Gaelic word "coille," meaning "wood" or "forest," suggesting that the name may have been originally applied to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kelty can be found in the records of Fife, a historic county in eastern Scotland. In the late 16th century, there are references to individuals with variations of the spelling, such as Keltie and Keltye, living in the area.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Kelty appeared in various historical documents and records across Scotland. Notable examples include James Kelty, a merchant from Edinburgh who lived in the late 17th century, and Robert Kelty, a landowner from Fife who was recorded in the 1730s.

The name Kelty has also been linked to certain place names in Scotland, such as Keltybridge, a village in Fife. This connection further reinforces the notion that the surname may have originated from a geographic location or feature associated with wooded areas.

Throughout history, several individuals with the surname Kelty have made significant contributions in various fields. One notable figure was Sir Thomas Kelty (1828-1890), a Scottish lawyer and politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1877 to 1880. Another prominent individual was James Kelty (1854-1931), a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1909 to 1911.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kelty include William Kelty (1865-1948), an Australian labor leader and politician who served as the President of the Australian Labor Party from 1916 to 1923, and John Kelty (1920-2011), an American actor and screenwriter best known for his work on television shows like "The Untouchables" and "Gunsmoke."

While the Kelty surname may have originated in Scotland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with descendants of Scottish emigrants carrying the name to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kelty

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

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 Kelty 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 Kelty 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 Kelty was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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