# Kielty (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kielty/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 805 |
| US rank (2010) | 29,366 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 383,535 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.5% (749 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /kiːlti/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Keelty, Keilty, Kilty, Quilty |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Ó Caoilte (“descendant of Caoilte”), a personal name probably based on caol (“slender”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kielty in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 96% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.0% |

## Similar surnames

Kelty, Klatt, Kellett, Khalid, Klett, Kluth.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.