Kelly Name Popularity

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How popular is Kelly?

The less frequently given name Kelly was the 618th Most Popular Girls Name in the United States in 2018.

This top 1000 contender has seen rankings outside of the top 1000.

It reached its highest popularity ranking of #10 in 1977 with 18,235 occurrences.

The least amount of newborns dubbed Kelly in any given year was less than 5, most recently in 1913.

Kelly, decisively moved upwards in popularity around the years 1934-1968, and 1974-1977, whereas clearly downward trends happened around 1969-1973, and 1977-2017.

Kelly became more popular as a girls name in 1957.

Where is the name Kelly popularity headed?

Kelly's popularity is at an extremely low point when measured against its most notable year.

Kelly's popularity has been spiralling downward for some time. In recent years, continuing the trend, the number of babies given the name Kelly has dropped.

The name Kelly still has a solid footing but will probably continue to drift downward in popularity.

Relative to what it once was, Kelly is very rarely used as a given name.

*Mouse over the charts or scroll down to the table for data details.

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for Percentages.

		Kelly (Girl)		Kelly (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		484	618	102	1,605
2017		502	596	111	1,499
2016		603	514	117	1,469
2015		673	480	104	1,557
2014		738	432	105	1,527
2013		848	369	103	1,542
2012		891	357	105	1,525
2011		942	335	108	1,498
2010		1,059	306	101	1,569
2009		1,250	261	140	1,260
2008		1,399	248	113	1,458
2007		1,568	222	154	1,156
2006		1,610	212	139	1,207
2005		1,952	174	127	1,249
2004		2,357	138	160	1,025
2003		2,735	125	146	1,065
2002		2,852	119	185	884
2001		2,814	124	174	902
2000		3,076	111	201	802
1999		3,420	95	195	789
1998		3,703	89	240	698
1997		4,063	83	284	616
1996		4,734	73	339	551
1995		5,398	64	357	536
1994		5,445	62	385	514
1993		6,298	51	475	456
1992		7,012	47	534	417
1991		7,512	42	643	367
1990		8,135	41	686	351
1989		8,764	37	811	299
1988		8,911	32	738	308
1987		9,867	30	786	280
1986		10,414	29	872	255
1985		11,030	28	893	253
1984		11,218	27	984	228
1983		11,585	26	1,054	218
1982		12,171	25	1,271	197
1981		11,876	23	1,182	209
1980		13,717	19	1,184	209
1979		15,297	16	1,207	200
1978		16,982	12	1,308	180
1977		18,235	10	1,484	162
1976		11,794	19	1,541	158
1975		11,734	16	1,642	150
1974		10,848	16	1,759	143
1973		10,517	18	1,704	146
1972		10,943	23	1,918	140
1971		12,596	22	2,265	136
1970		14,610	20	2,496	135
1969		16,328	15	2,791	115
1968		17,139	12	3,059	97
1967		13,721	23	3,100	102
1966		13,243	26	2,785	111
1965		12,761	30	2,259	136
1964		12,475	35	2,492	132
1963		12,552	32	2,728	126
1962		11,528	38	2,857	126
1961		9,637	45	3,006	125
1960		8,679	51	2,935	128
1959		6,379	74	2,435	142
1958		4,471	108	2,298	148
1957		1,905	187	1,869	167
1956		831	309	1,473	189
1955		539	380	1,249	204
1954		455	406	960	224
1953		225	592	845	233
1952		296	490	806	235
1951		164	684	701	252
1950		97	904	488	307
1949		117	805	510	300
1948		83	959	379	346
1947		73	1,042	351	369
1946		51	1,215	283	389
1945		51	1,106	240	386
1944		60	1,011	275	362
1943		36	1,381	275	369
1942		36	1,359	249	385
1941		28	1,486	160	470
1940		24	1,613	142	484
1939		10	2,818	153	467
1938		18	1,908	137	497
1937		14	2,256	126	515
1936		13	2,330	138	482
1935		13	2,370	125	515
1934		11	2,651	144	474
1933		12	2,474	120	516
1932		14	2,306	105	578
1931		9	3,103	129	506
1930		13	2,486	117	557
1929		11	2,836	141	496
1928		11	2,876	128	539
1927		10	3,176	132	534
1926		12	2,802	123	548
1925		16	2,335	121	562
1924		10	3,258	125	570
1923		10	3,243	111	603
1922		13	2,681	141	523
1921		15	2,436	133	541
1920		11	3,002	121	566
1919		8	3,633	144	496
1918		14	2,443	118	554
1917		8	3,519	131	501
1916		9	3,149	90	616
1915		5	4,614	101	566
1914		11	2,191	92	511
1913		< 5	--	63	547
1912		7	2,506	57	527
1911		5	2,669	41	459
1910		6	2,286	46	386
1909		7	1,870	26	512
1908		5	2,274	25	508
1907		5	2,216	29	433
1906		< 5	--	20	512
1905		< 5	--	11	771
1904		< 5	--	13	666
1903		< 5	--	21	461
1902		< 5	--	16	546
1901		< 5	--	12	622
1900		< 5	--	33	390
1899		< 5	--	9	755
1898		< 5	--	10	722
1897		< 5	--	15	537
1896		< 5	--	14	573
1895		< 5	--	23	406
1894		< 5	--	12	611
1893		< 5	--	21	396
1892		< 5	--	18	470
1891		< 5	--	9	674
1890		< 5	--	11	621
1889		< 5	--	17	451
1888		< 5	--	10	675
1887		< 5	--	13	500
1886		< 5	--	16	462
1885		< 5	--	15	492
1884		< 5	--	10	640
1883		< 5	--	12	543
1882		< 5	--	13	526
1881		< 5	--	8	676
1880		< 5	--	5	995

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.