Kelsey

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Kelsey: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Kelsey: Recorded every year since 1989, its highest recorded position is #48, and it stood at #544 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
116times a registrar ranked it
37years from first to last
#48highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#107
1997	#105
1998	#87
1999	#102
2000	#103
2001	#111
2002	#120
2003	#102
2004	#132
2005	#121
2006	#136
2007	#142
2008	#164
2009	#183
2010	#197
2011	#254
2012	#322
2013	#373
2014	#422
2015	#595
2016	#594
2017	#949
2018	#936
2019	#778
2020	#1127
2021	#1402
2022	#1326
2023	#1325
2024	#1603

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in every year from 1989 to 2025.

In 2024: #504 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #638 among girls in Scotland, #1603 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1989–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1989
First recorded at #80 among girls in New Zealand in 1989 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Girls
Highest recorded1989–1999
Highest recorded position: #48 among girls in New Zealand, in 1991 (recorded 1989–1999).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #544 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Kelsey appears in 5 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 37 years beginning in 1989, and has registered 776 births with the name.

Kelsey across 5 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Kelsey's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#445 (1989)	#116 (1998)	#544 (2025)	37 of 37	776 (1989–2025)	43 (1997)
England and Wales · Girls	#107 (1996)	#87 (1998)	#1603 (2024)	29 of 29	7,221 (1996–2024)	596 (1998)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#186 (1997)	#114 (2006)	#418 (2022)	22 of 26	239 (1997–2022)	18 (2006)
England and Wales · Boys	#784 (1996)	#563 (1999)	#4023 (2016)	17 of 21	224 (1996–2016)	33 (1999)
New Zealand · Girls	#80 (1989)	#48 (1991)	#92 (1999)	10 of 11	718 (1989–1999)	108 (1991)

Kelsey by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Kelsey in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1980s	4	1 of 10	4
1990s	206	10 of 10	21
2000sbusiest	320	10 of 10	32
2010s	204	10 of 10	20
2020s	42	6 of 10	7

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 2000s were its busiest decade, averaging 32 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Kelsey appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1989 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #48 in New Zealand in 1991.

Kelsey's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#1603	19	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#1325	24	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#1326	24	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#1402	22	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#1127	29	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#778	48	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#936	39	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#949	39	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#594	71	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4023	4	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#595	71	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#422	103	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	female	#373	121	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#322	151	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#3987	4	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#254	193	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#197	260	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#2629	7	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#183	291	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2837	6	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#164	325	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#3687	4	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#142	382	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#3095	5	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#136	408	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1643	11	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#121	441	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1617	11	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#132	385	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1410	12	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#102	473	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1629	9	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#120	386	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#869	20	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#111	435	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#910	18	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#103	471	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1002	15	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#102	500	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#563	33	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#87	596	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#716	23	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#105	476	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#694	23	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#107	438	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#784	19	High	Verified
1999	New Zealand	female	#92	48	High	Verified
1997	New Zealand	female	#69	64	High	Verified
1996	New Zealand	female	#75	60	High	Verified
1995	New Zealand	female	#77	59	High	Verified
1994	New Zealand	female	#76	64	High	Verified
1993	New Zealand	female	#75	63	High	Verified
1992	New Zealand	female	#59	88	High	Verified
1991	New Zealand	female	#48	108	High	Verified
1990	New Zealand	female	#52	103	High	Verified
1989	New Zealand	female	#80	61	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	female	#418	3	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	female	#424	3	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	female	#353	4	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	female	#426	3	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	female	#205	9	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	female	#132	16	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	female	#203	9	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#189	10	High	Verified
2010	Northern Ireland	female	#180	11	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#154	13	High	Verified
2008	Northern Ireland	female	#157	13	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#125	17	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	female	#114	18	High	Verified
2005	Northern Ireland	female	#148	13	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#169	10	High	Verified
2003	Northern Ireland	female	#125	15	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#162	10	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#155	11	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#127	16	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#158	11	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	female	#138	14	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#186	10	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	female	#544	6	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	female	#504	7	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#404	9	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	female	#458	8	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	female	#495	7	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	female	#296	15	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	female	#319	14	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#341	12	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#302	15	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	female	#306	16	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	female	#264	19	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	female	#241	22	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	female	#225	24	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#194	30	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#169	37	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#161	38	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	female	#199	28	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#160	38	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#152	33	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	female	#134	36	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#166	26	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#121	40	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#146	29	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#131	33	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	female	#188	19	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#123	33	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#116	34	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#121	43	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#187	24	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#211	18	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#220	17	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#300	10	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#249	15	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#338	8	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#446	4	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#445	4	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	female	#638	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1989 and 2025, ranked in 37 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #48, first reached in 1991.

It held a top-100 place in 11 years, 11 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 596 births, registered in England and Wales in 1998.

1 registrar publishes it in more than one category list, holding a place in each for at least five years — an observation about those lists rather than about the name.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1989, and 35 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Kelly-Marie · #358, 10y
Kelsea · #425, 22y
Kelsi · #440, 26y
Kelsie · #190, 31y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Eira · #44, 35y
Kian · #54, 41y
Tegan · #55, 42y
Josh · #38, 36y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Joe · #48, 36y
Alana · #49, 46y
Alannah · #49, 42y
Linus · #49, 34y

Kelsey was ranked #48 in New Zealand · Girls in 1991. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Kelsey and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Kelsey without appearing here.

Kelsey moved ahead of

Nicola Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1326 and #1282 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1325 and #2689.
Shannon Compare
In 2017 they stood at #949 and #915 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2018 that had become #936 and #1436.
Susan Compare
In 2022 they stood at #661 and #661 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2023 that had become #404 and #856.
Kelly Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1326 and #1215 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #1325 and #1774.

Moved ahead of Kelsey

Conan Compare
In 2011 they stood at #2629 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #3987 and #1962.
Henrik Compare
In 2011 they stood at #2629 and #3332 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #3987 and #1962.
Rodney Compare
In 2015 they stood at #3987 and #4805 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #4023 and #2175.
Theodor Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1643 and #2870 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #3095 and #1440.

Moved the opposite way to Kelsey

Kayla Compare
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Kelsey went from #338 to #544 while Kayla went from #515 to #130.
Paige Compare
Between 1991 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Kelsey went from #338 to #544 while Paige went from #515 to #173.
Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kelsey went from #107 to #1603 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kelsey went from #107 to #1603 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.

Moved the same way as Kelsey

Ingrid Compare
Between 1992 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Kelsey went from #249 to #404 and Ingrid from #523 to #856.
May Compare
Between 1994 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Kelsey went from #220 to #544 and May from #502 to #718.
Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kelsey went from #107 to #1603 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Kelsey went from #107 to #1603 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1989 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #48 in New Zealand in 1991. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Kelsey

Kelsey at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Kelsey across 5 official records

Kelsey by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Kelsey appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Kelsey

Kelsey and the names beside it

Kelsey moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kelsey

Moved the opposite way to Kelsey

Moved the same way as Kelsey

Kelsey at a glance

Kelsey across 5 official records

Kelsey by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Kelsey appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Kelsey

Kelsey and the names beside it

Kelsey moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Kelsey

Moved the opposite way to Kelsey

Moved the same way as Kelsey