Girl · Irish
Kelli
Say it: KEL-ee
Meaning
A spelling of Kelly, from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, from the personal name Ceallach, whose meaning is disputed ('bright-headed', 'strife' and 'church' have been proposed).
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
An American spelling most used in the 1960s and 1970s.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1970s
In the United States
- 75,085 babies given this name since 1945
- At its height in 1970, about 1 in 525 girls
- 32 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Kelly, Kellie
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.