How popular is the baby name Kelly in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Kelly.

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Popularity of the baby name Kelly


Posts that mention the name Kelly

Baby name story: Zeppelin

The zeppelin bend (a type of knot)
The zeppelin bend

In December of 2016, American actors (and married couple) Jensen Ackles and Danneel Harris welcomed twins: a girl named Arrow Rhodes, and a boy named Zeppelin Bram.

I’m not sure how the couple chose Arrow’s name, but Ackles recently told the story behind Zeppelin’s name on the morning talk show Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Zeppelin’s umbilical chord had been knotted at birth, and this inspired Ackles to learn about knots:

I went onto a sailing knot site — like, names of knots. And at the very end was the zeppelin bend, which was the knot that they used to tether the zeppelin blimps to the ground.

Arrow and Zeppelin also have an older sister, named Justice.

P.S. Danneel Harris was born Elta Danneel Graul in Louisiana in 1979. “Elta” was the name of one of her great-grandmothers, while “Danneel” was inspired by Danneel Street in Uptown New Orleans.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from ZeppelinBagi by Cobanyastigi under CC0.

[Latest update: Oct. 2024]

Where did the baby name Hoby come from in 1958?

The character Hoby Gilman from the TV series "Trackdown" (1957-1959)
Hoby Gilman from “Trackdown“

Westerns were the hottest thing on television in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and we can see it in the baby name data. Here’s yet another Western-inspired debut, Hoby:

  • 1960: 6 baby boys named Hoby
  • 1959: 14 baby boys named Hoby
  • 1958: 30 baby boys named Hoby [debut]
  • 1957: unlisted
  • 1956: unlisted

Hoby (which rhymes with Toby and Dobie) was the top debut of the year for boys in 1958. In fact, one of the biggest boy name debuts ever.

The inspiration? Hoby Gilman, the main character of the TV western Trackdown (1957-1959).

Hoby, played by actor Robert Culp, was a Texas Ranger who spent his days tracking down bad guys in post-Civil War Texas. “[Culp’s] Hoby Gilman was a cooler character than other deadpan Western cowboys. Culp…imbued Hoby with a hipness that was ahead of the time but which presaged the Sixties yet to come.”

Notably, Trackdown “was given official approval from the (modern day) Rangers and the state of Texas.”

The character originated on an episode of Zane Grey Theatre in May of 1957. A mere five months later, a whole series based on Hoby had emerged. (A whopping five episodes of Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre were developed into subsequent TV shows. Impressive.)

Robert Culp went on to co-star with Bill Cosby in I Spy from 1965 to 1968. His character, named Kelly, gave a temporary boost to the male usage of Kelly, which peaked for boys in 1967/1968.

What are your thoughts on the name Hoby?

Sources:

Keedy: The ’90s baby name that never was?

Pop singer Keedy
Pop singer Keedy

Not long ago I discovered a new-to-me pop star from the early ’90s named Keedy (born Kelly Ann Keedy).

In 1991 she put out the album Chase the Clouds. Two singles from that album ended up the Billboard Hot 100. The catchier of the two, “Save Some Love,” peaked at #15 in May.

The follow-up, a ballad called “Wishing On The Same Star,” peaked at #86 in August.

…And that was it. No more major label albums, no more singles on the charts.

But what if she had stuck around a little longer? Would “Keedy” have emerged in the baby name data?

The girl names Keely, Kaylee, Kendall, Kennedy, and Kylie were all on the rise in the early ’90s. Keedy would have been right on trend.

What do you think: Could Keedy have been a contender?

Sources: Rare and Obscure Music: Keedy, Keedy – Billboard

Where did the baby name Tatia come from in 1965?

The character Tatia from the TV series "I Spy" (1965-1968).
Tatia from “I Spy“

The baby name Tatia debuted impressively in the U.S. baby name data in 1965. It was second only to Latrenda that year.

  • 1967: 58 baby girls named Tatia
  • 1966: 211 baby girls named Tatia [peak usage]
  • 1965: 43 baby girls named Tatia [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A single episode of the TV show I Spy (1965-1968), which starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as characters Kelly and Scotty, a pair of undercover agents.

The episode aired on November 17, 1965, and was called “Tatia,” after the character Tatia Loring (played by Laura Devon). Tatia, whose name was pronounced ta-sha, was a freelance photographer in Tokyo who Kelly was attracted to, but Scotty was suspicious of.

The year after the episode aired, the baby name Tatia was boosted into the top 1,000 for the first (and so far only) time. The phonetic spelling Tasha fared even better: It hit the top 1,000 and stuck around until the 1990s.

Several other baby names also got a boost from single-episode I Spy characters. Examples include Tonia (from the January 1967 episode “Tonia”) and Shana (from the March 1968 episode “Shana”).

P.S. Robert Culp also played Hoby, and Laura Devon also played Toika.

Sources: “Tatia” – I Spy – IMDb, SSA