Kelly

Revision History

loadingDate    Editor    Change Summary
1/21/2022, 9:40 PM Mike C update #111
2/28/2019, 2:08 PM Mike C update #102
8/16/2017, 11:57 PM Mike C update #96
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Masculine & Feminine
Usage Irish, English
Pronounced Pron. /ˈkɛl.i/(English)

Meaning & History

Anglicized form of the Irish given name Ceallach or the surname derived from it Ó Ceallaigh. As a surname, it has been borne by actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).

As a given name it was mostly masculine before 1940, but it rose in popularity as a name for girls during the 40s and 50s, probably due both to Grace Kelly (who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956) and a female character on the 1957 television series Bachelor Father [1]. By the end of the 1970s it was on the decline.