Kelsey is a distinctive choice, ranked #1603 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Kelsey in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#1603
US Rank #671
About the Name Kelsey
Kelsey has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 476 places in five years. It was most popular in 1998 at #87 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It briefly reached the UK top 100, though it typically sits a little further down the charts.
Kelsey is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
In the US it ranks even higher at #671, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Kelsey
Unlikely. With around 19 UK babies named Kelsey per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Kelsey in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Kelsey has been declining in UK popularity, dropping 476 places in the last five years. Its peak was #87 in 1998. Choosing it now means he is likely to be among the last of his generation with this name.
Kelsey is more popular in the US (#671) than in the UK (#1603). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Kelsey include: Ian Kelsey — Ian Kelsey is an English actor.; Henry Kelsey — Henry Kelsey was an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who played an important role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada.; Kelsey Lu — Kelsey Elizabeth McJunkins, known professionally as Kelsey Lu, is an American singer and cellist based in Los Angeles, California..
Kelsey ranks #671 in the US top 1,000 (2024). It's recognised in America but considerably more popular in the UK.
19
UK babies named Kelsey (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 476 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Kelsey
Likely around 1 other Kelsey in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2024)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Kelsey
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Ian Kelsey is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Dave Glover in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, Patrick Spiller in the BBC medical drama Casualty, DI Richard Mayne in the ITV crime drama Blue Murder and Howard Bellamy in the BBC soap opera Doctors.
Henry Kelsey was an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who played an important role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. He is the first recorded European to have visited the present-day provinces of Saskatchewan and, possibly, Alberta, as well as the first to have explored the Great Plains from the north.
Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey was a Canadian-American pharmacologist and physician who had a 45-year career with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Kelsey Christine Plum is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Phantom of Unrivaled. Nicknamed "Plum Dawg", she is a four-time WNBA All-Star and was named the WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2022.
Kelsey Piper is an American journalist who is a staff writer at The Argument. She was previously a staff writer at Vox, where she wrote for the column Future Perfect, which covered a variety of topics from an effective altruism perspective.
Kelsey Alaine Merritt is a Filipino-American model best known for being the first Filipino woman to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and to feature in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.