Last name: KELLY
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All you have to know about the last name KELLY
Last name frequency
KELLY : This last name is indexed 1,130,027 times on Geneanet!Origin of last name
KELLY : 1: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceallaigh or in some areas Mac Ceallaigh ‘descendant (or son) of Ceallach’ an ancient Irish personal name originally a byname meaning ‘bright-headed’ later understood as ‘frequenting churches’ (Irish ceall). There are several early Irish saints who bore this name. Kelly is now the most common of all surnames in Ireland.2: Scottish: habitational name from either the lands of Kelly near Arbroath (Angus) Kellie in Carnbee (Fife) or Kelly in Methlick (Aberdeenshire). Each of these placenames is from Pictish celli or Gaelic coille ‘wood’ + the placename forming suffix -in. Alternatively from the lands of Kelloe in the barony of Hume (Berwickshire) whose name is of uncertain origin.3: English: habitational name from Kelly (Devon). The placename probably derives from a British cognate of Cornish kelli ‘grove small wood’.
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Most popular first names
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Most indexed places
- Ireland (29,388)
- Dublin (22,938)
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- Mayo (11,645)
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- Philadelphia (2,518)
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- Meath (2,302)
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- Boston (2,188)
- London (2,158)
- Pennsylvania (2,152)
- Carlow (2,150)
- St. Peter's, Athlone And Drum (2,094)
- Longford (2,093)
- Paris (2,070)
- County Tyrone (2,036)
- Drum (2,033)
- Westmeath (1,828)
- New York City (1,813)
- Kirk German,england (1,792)
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Most indexed countries
- Ireland (454,612)
- United States (298,132)
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- Australia (54,076)
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- Canada (20,916)
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- Netherlands (4,476)
- Switzerland (2,642)
- Unknown country (2,572)
- Belgium (1,676)
- Germany (1,190)
- Italy (859)
- Monaco (615)
- Spain (566)
- India (563)
- Mexico (529)
- Aruba (487)
Available collections for this name
- Archives
(650,246) - Newspapers
(208,787) - Family Trees
(201,358) - Books
(47,361) - Other
(13,013) - Obituaries
(6,654) - Cemeteries
(1,204) - Magazines
(1,060) - Memorials
(313) - Coats of Arms
(30) - Memory of places
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