Kelly is a name of Irish origin and means "bright-headed". It has been used as both a feminine and masculine given name in Ireland for centuries. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "ceallach", which translates to bright-headed or wise. In medieval times, Kelly was primarily used as a boy's name, but it began to be used more frequently for girls in the 19th century. Today, Kelly is considered a unisex name and is popular among English-speaking countries around the world. Some notable individuals with the name Kelly include American actresses Kelly Preston and Kelly Ripa, as well as Irish singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson.
The name Kelly experienced significant popularity fluctuations over time. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it saw consistent but moderate usage, with fewer than 50 births per year until around 1940. However, beginning in the mid-20th century, its popularity began to surge dramatically. Between 1947 and 1967, the number of annual Kelly births increased by over two thousand percent, reaching a peak of nearly 3100 births in 1967.
The following decade saw a gradual decline from this peak, but Kelly remained popular nonetheless, with over 2000 births each year between 1968 and 1978. The late 1970s marked another turning point, as the name's popularity began to wane once again, dropping below 1500 births per year by 1983.
This downward trend continued into the 1990s and 2000s, with fewer than 600 Kelly births recorded each year from 1993 onwards. The most recent data available (up to 2022) shows that the name has stabilized at a much lower level of popularity, with approximately 100-150 births per year.
In total, over the span of these records, the name Kelly was given to 82,204 babies.