How common is the surname Kelsey?

14,456 people in the United States had the surname Kelsey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,358 Americans. It ranked 2,501st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Kelsey?

Fred Kelsey, actor, director, screenwriter (1884-1961), followed by Linda Kelsey.

Where is the surname Kelsey most common?

Wikidata records people named Kelsey in the United States.

How do you pronounce Kelsey?

Kelsey is /ˈkɛlsi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Kelsey getting more or less common?

More common. 13,849 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,456 in 2010, up 4.4%.

Is Kelsey also a first name?

Yes. Kelsey 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 Kelsey

An English place surname, carried by 14,456 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɛlsi/ 2 syllables Soundex K420 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). Kelsey is more common than 98.5% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English cēol (“ship”) + ieġ.

Kelsey is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,456 people named Kelsey in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,358 Americans. That is up 4.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 13,849.

#2,501

rank among US surnames

14,456

people in 2010

4.9

per 100,000 Americans

+4.4%

change since 2000 (was #2,397)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,492	Higginbotham	14,489	21,309
#2,493	Carnes	14,487	21,312
#2,494	Tobias	14,482	21,319
#2,495	Soria	14,477	21,327
#2,496	Limon	14,472	21,334
#2,497	Diggs	14,467	21,341
#2,498	Parish	14,466	21,343

Who is named Kelsey

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

84% of people named Kelsey identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Kelseys

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Fred Kelsey
Actor, director, screenwriter (1884-1961)
Linda Kelsey
American actress, born 1946

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kelsey

Kelsey has the Soundex code K420, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code K420.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Kelsey come from?: From Old English cēol (“ship”) + ieġ.
How common is the surname Kelsey?: 14,456 people in the United States had the surname Kelsey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,358 Americans. It ranked 2,501st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kelsey?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Kelsey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Kelsey?: Fred Kelsey, actor, director, screenwriter (1884-1961), followed by Linda Kelsey.
Where is the surname Kelsey most common?: Wikidata records people named Kelsey in the United States.
How do you pronounce Kelsey?: Kelsey is /ˈkɛlsi/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Kelsey?: Kelsey is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Kelsey getting more or less common?: More common. 13,849 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,456 in 2010, up 4.4%.
Is Kelsey also a first name?: Yes. Kelsey 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.