as a Last Name
- 291,834
- people in the U.S. have this name Get contact details for people named Kelly
Meaning & Origins
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceallaigh ‘descendant of Ceallach’, an ancient Irish personal name, originally a byname meaning ‘bright-headed’, later understood as ‘frequenting churches’ (Irish ceall). There are several early Irish saints who bore this name. Kelly is now the most common of all Irish family names in Ireland.
| 68th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 291,834
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- Guam
- has the most people named Kelly per capita
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
