Kelly Family History
- Kelly Name Meaning
- Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceallaigh ‘descendant 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 Irish family names in Ireland.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
- 10,451,572 Historical Documents with Kelly on Ancestry
- 3,731,688 Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
- 2,271,161 Census and Voter Lists
- 451,611 Military Records
- 462,519 Immigration Records
- 3,534,593 Member Trees
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Number of Kelly families
 3,560 - 7,118  1,187 - 3,559 |
 1 - 1,186  |
from the 1920 US Federal Census Data
Number of Kelly families
|
4,155 - 8,307 1,386 - 4,154 |
1 - 1,385 |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
Number of Kelly families
|
1,966 - 3,930 656 - 1,965 |
1 - 655 |
from the 1891 Scotland Census Data
Kelly census records
You can see how Kelly families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, occupation and value of personal estate.
- Ireland (19,732)
- England (3,054)
- Great Britain (2,796)
- Scotland (742)
- Germany (74)
- Ireland;Great Britain (68)
from the New York Passengers List
Click on a place to view Kelly immigration records
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry. You can find out where the majority of the Kelly families were living before they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival, and destination.
from the New York Passenger Lists
Click on a circle in the chart to view Kelly immigration records
You can find out when most of the Kelly families immigrated to the United States. You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival and destination.
from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)
Click on a circle in the chart to view Kelly birth and death records
An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family.
The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.
from 1880 Federal Census Data
Kelly census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Kelly ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
- All Kelly
- 10,087
- Confederate
- 2,703
- Union
- 7,384
from the Civil War Service Records
Click to view veteran service records
You can find out if your ancestors came primarily from the North of the South.
Military records can tell you an ancestor's birthplace, occupation, and even physical description.
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