How common is the surname Kelso?

8,671 people in the United States had the surname Kelso in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 35,607 Americans. It ranked 4,096th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Kelso?

Frank Kelso, American Navy admiral (1933–2013), followed by Mayme Kelso.

Where is the surname Kelso most common?

Wikidata records people named Kelso in the United States.

How do you pronounce Kelso?

Kelso is /ˈkɛl.soʊ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Kelso getting more or less common?

More common. 8,360 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,671 in 2010, up 3.7%.

The surname Kelso

A surname, carried by 8,671 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɛl.soʊ/ 2 syllables Soundex K420

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Kelso is more common than 97.5% of them.

Origin

From earlier Calchow, from Middle Welsh Calchvynyð (Modern Welsh Calchfynydd (“lime mountain”)).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,671 people named Kelso in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 35,607 Americans. That is up 3.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,360.

#4,096

rank among US surnames

8,671

people in 2010

2.9

per 100,000 Americans

+3.7%

change since 2000 (was #3,910)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,087	Peterman	8,690	35,529
#4,088	Clapp	8,689	35,533
#4,089	Pannell	8,687	35,541
#4,090	Keel	8,682	35,562
#4,091	Coppola	8,676	35,586
#4,092	Shorter	8,675	35,590
#4,095	Earle	8,672	35,603

Who is named Kelso

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

86% of people named Kelso identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.4% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 86%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.4%
Two or more races 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Kelsos

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Frank Kelso
American Navy admiral (1933–2013)
Mayme Kelso
Actress (1867-1946)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Kelso

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

Questions

Where does the surname Kelso come from?: From earlier Calchow, from Middle Welsh Calchvynyð (Modern Welsh Calchfynydd (“lime mountain”)).
How common is the surname Kelso?: 8,671 people in the United States had the surname Kelso in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 35,607 Americans. It ranked 4,096th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Kelso?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Kelso identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.4% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Kelso?: Frank Kelso, American Navy admiral (1933–2013), followed by Mayme Kelso.
Where is the surname Kelso most common?: Wikidata records people named Kelso in the United States.
How do you pronounce Kelso?: Kelso is /ˈkɛl.soʊ/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Kelso getting more or less common?: More common. 8,360 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,671 in 2010, up 3.7%.