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Girl or boy · Irish
Kerry Say it: KAIR-ee
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Meaning From the Irish county of Kerry, Ciarraí 'Ciar's people', Ciar being a personal name from ciar 'dark'.
Likely the main view, with some doubt.
A boys' name in Ireland and Britain that became mostly a girls' name in the US from the 1960s.
Its wave through time Fading since the 1970s
In the United States 0 0.5 1 1.5 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 Girls 1971 Boys 1960 per 1,000 babies of that sex 98,322 babies given this name since 1920 At its height in 1971, about 1 in 2,000 boys 61 babies in 2020 The family of the name Other spellings: Kerri, Keri
Names worth a look Christy Girl A pet form of Christine or Christina, from Latin Christianus 'a Christian'; in Ireland also a boys' pet form of… Modern · peak 1975 · forgotten Darren Boy A surname of uncertain origin, sometimes linked to Irish Ó Dearáin; its use as a first name is a 20th-century… Modern · peak 1965 Neil Boy From Irish Niall, of uncertain meaning; 'champion' and 'cloud' have both been proposed. Middle Ages · peak 1953 Brady Boy From the Irish surname Mac Brádaigh 'son of Brádach', a personal name of uncertain meaning, sometimes linked to… Modern · peak 2007 Brendan Boy From Irish Bréanainn, probably borrowed from Welsh brenhin 'prince, king'. Early Medieval · peak 1999 Bridget Girl From Irish Brighid, probably from a Celtic word meaning 'high, exalted'. Middle Ages · peak 1973 Karen Girl A Danish short form of Katherine, from Greek Aikaterinē, whose origin is unknown. Modern · peak 1956 Gary Boy Of uncertain origin; possibly from a surname with the Germanic element gar 'spear'. Its use as a first name grew… Modern · peak 1951 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.