Kelly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Kelly

What does the name Kelly mean?

The Irish name Kelly has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. The original Gaelic form of the name Kelly is Ó Ceallaigh or Mac Ceallaigh. These names denote descendants of Ceallach. This personal name may be derived from the word “ceallach,” which means “strife.” 1

Early Origins of the Kelly family

The surname Kelly was first found in southwest Ireland, south of Dublin where they held a family seat from very ancient times. The Kelly surname is conjecturally descended from King Colla da Crioch, who died in 357 A.D.

While most of the family claim Ireland as their heritage, we did find one reference in England: “Kelly, [Devon] is noteworthy as affording one of the few continuing local instances of families seated on the estates whence they take name. The Kellys of Kelly have held this manor from the time of Henry II. at least. ” 2

Henry II, King of England reigned from 1154 to 1189; so one may presume there is a relationship between the Irish and the English families, but this is the extent of our research at this time.

Kelly Spelling Variations

Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Kelly dating from that time include Kelly, Kellie, O’Kelly, O’Killia and others.

Early Notables of the Kelly family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

• Daniel MacKelly
• Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (1555-1597), Irish occultist and self-declared spirit medium
• Charles O’Kelly (1621-1695) was an Irish soldier and writer from Aughrim, County Galway

Kelly World Ranking

In the United Kingdom, the name Kelly is the 50^th most popular surname with an estimated 81,180 people with that name. 3 However, in Australia, the name Kelly is ranked the 15^th most popular surname with an estimated 55,407 people with that name. 4 And in New Zealand, the name Kelly is the 63^rd popular surname with an estimated 4,991 people with that name. 5 Canada ranks Kelly as 60^th with 35,114 people. 6 Quebec, Canada ranks Kelly as 649^th. 7 Newfoundland, Canada ranks Kelly as 29^th with 697 people. 8 The United States ranks Kelly as 74^th with 253,674 people. 9