Kelly Hu
There are approximately 49 people named Kelly Hu living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 6,994,986 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Kelly with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Hu. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
49
1 in 6,994,986
Named Kelly
494K
Alive today
Named Hu
34K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 494K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Unisex
Peak year: 1968
Average age: 48
Top Census group: White (85.6%)
Estimated bearers: 34K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #1,164
Per 100K: 9.95
Top ancestry: Asian/Pacific Islander (94.8%)
First name trend
Kelly: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Kelly. The peak year was 1968 with 20,197 births. The average person named Kelly today is 48 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kelly
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Kelly, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.6%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kelly described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Kelly at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.6% · 427,397
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 25,501
- Black or African American3.3% · 16,500
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 14,049
- Two or more races2.6% · 13,098
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 2,681
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Hu surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Hu, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 94.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Hu described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Hu at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- Asian and Pacific Islander94.8% · 28,178
- White2.7% · 808
- Two or more races1.3% · 396
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 184
- Black or African American0.5% · 160
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 8
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Kelly has a living-bearer frequency of 0.1442% of the US population, based on 494,171 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Kelly right now.
The surname Hu appears at a rate of 9.95 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0099%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 49 people with the full name Kelly Hu. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Kelly
FAQ
Kelly Hu: questions and answers
How many people are named Kelly Hu?
We estimate approximately 49 people in the United States share the full name Kelly Hu. That works out to about 1 in 6,994,986 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.1442%) with the surname frequency (9.95 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Kelly Hu?
We classify Kelly Hu as "Very Rare". About 1 in 6,994,986 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Kelly a male or female name?
Kelly is predominantly unisex. Out of 555,958 total SSA registrations, 14.8% were male and 85.2% were female. See the full Kelly profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Kelly Hu?
You can see how many people are called Kelly Hu on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.