2000
#15,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,737
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Kelty
Derived from an Irish place name meaning "woody headland" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,124 Americans carry the last name Kelty. That puts it at #15,262 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,372 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kelty surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 161,372
Census rank
#15,262
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,852 bearers of the surname Kelty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15262nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kelty, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Kelty appeared in various historical documents and records across Scotland.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelty
Among Census respondents with the surname Kelty, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kelty bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kelty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 1,525
- Black or African American7.8% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 89
- Two or more races3.5% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kelty
Kelty appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
+287 bearers (+16.5%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 782 places
2020
#15,262
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,852
-172 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 571 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,473 | 1,737 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,691 | 2,024 | 0.69 | +287 bearers (+16.5%) | Up 782 places |
| 2020 | #15,262 | 1,852 | 0.62 | -172 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 571 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kelty surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,691 | #15,262 | -3.9% |
| Count | 2,024 | 1,852 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.62 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kelty bearers went from 2,024 to 1,852 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 571 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,691 to #15,262.
FAQ
Kelty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kelty?
Name Census estimates that about 2,124 living Americans carry the surname Kelty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,372 residents.
How common is Kelty?
Kelty ranks #15,262 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,852 people with the surname Kelty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Kelty.
Has Kelty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kelty went from 2,024 recorded bearers to 1,852. That is a decrease of 172 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,691 to #15,262.
What does the Census say about the background of Kelty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kelty, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kelty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (1,525 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kelty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.3%), Black (7.8%), Hispanic (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kelty (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kelty mean?
Derived from an Irish place name meaning "woody headland" in Gaelic. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kelty (0.62 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Kelty?
Find out how many people are called Kelty on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.