Kelly m, f
English: As a male name, an Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic CEALLAGH (SEE Ceallagh). In Australia and elsewhere in the English-speaking world it is now more commonly used as a female given name. This use probably derives from the Irish surname (Gaelic Ó Ceallaigh ‘descendant of Ceallagh’); cf. the similar recent use of CASEY (SEE Casey) and CASSIDY (SEE Cassidy) as female given names.
Variants: Kelley, Kellie f.
First names dictionary. 2012.