How common is the surname Kelley?

140,693 people in the United States had the surname Kelley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,194 Americans. It ranked 198th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Kelley?

DeForest Kelley, American actor (1920–1999), followed by Ryan Kelley.

Where is the surname Kelley most common?

Wikidata records people named Kelley in the United States and Australia.

Is the surname Kelley getting more or less common?

More common. 137,555 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 140,693 in 2010, up 2.3%.

Is Kelley also a first name?

Yes. Kelley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Kelley

An Irish surname, carried by 140,693 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex K400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Kelley is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

A surname from Irish, a less common spelling of Kelly.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 140,693 people named Kelley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,194 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 137,555.

#198

rank among US surnames

140,693

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.3%

change since 2000 (was #184)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#189	Nichols	145,584	2,121
#190	Stephens	144,646	2,134
#191	Soto	144,451	2,137
#192	Weaver	143,837	2,146
#193	Ryan	143,452	2,152
#194	Gardner	142,894	2,161
#195	Payne	142,601	2,165

Who is named Kelley

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Kelley identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 2.0%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Kelleys

29 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

DeForest Kelley
American actor (1920–1999)
Ryan Kelley
American actor, born 1986
Nathalie Kelley
Australian actress, born 1985
Elijah Kelley
American actor and singer, born 1986
David E. Kelley
American television producer, writer and attorney, born 1956
Florence Kelley
American activist (1859–1932)
Sheila Kelley
American actress, born 1961
Abby Kelley Foster
American activist (1811–1887)
Mike Kelley
American artist (1954–2012)
Josh Kelley
American musician, born 1980
Barry Kelley
American actor (1908-1991)
Allen Kelley
American basketball player (1932–2016)

Notable Kelleys come mostly from the United States (28) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kelley

Kelley has the Soundex code K400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K400.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kelley come from?: Kelley is Irish in origin.
How common is the surname Kelley?: 140,693 people in the United States had the surname Kelley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,194 Americans. It ranked 198th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kelley?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Kelley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Kelley?: DeForest Kelley, American actor (1920–1999), followed by Ryan Kelley.
Where is the surname Kelley most common?: Wikidata records people named Kelley in the United States and Australia.
Is the surname Kelley getting more or less common?: More common. 137,555 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 140,693 in 2010, up 2.3%.
Is Kelley also a first name?: Yes. Kelley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.