Girls' name · peaked in 1992
Kelsey name popularity since 1925
155,574 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Kelsey (96.7% girls, 3.3% boys). Half of them were born in 1994 or earlier, so the typical Kelsey is about 32 years old in 2026. Kelsey peaked in 1992 as the #23 name for girls, and it ranked #814 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 155,574
- Named Kelsey, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #814
- for girls in 2025 (335 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 96.7% girls
- 150,416 girls · 5,158 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 2.22× its national share
Peak year is the year Kelsey made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Kelsey births per year, 1925–2025
1992 was the biggest year for Kelsey both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1979 and 1984, Kelsey became 6.7× more common, from 1 in 7,230 baby girls to 1 in 1,080.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby girls fell by 58%, from 1 in 229 to 1 in 551.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Kelsey's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Kelsey.
Decade by decade
Babies named Kelsey in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 66 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 107 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 41 | 136 | #4,288 |
| 1950s | 139 | 164 | #2,895 |
| 1960s | 226 | 239 | #3,198 |
| 1970s | 1,111 | 818 | #1,113 |
| 1980s | 27,758 | 1,422 | #168 |
| 1990s | 85,134 | 1,465 | #33 |
| 2000s | 23,380 | 477 | #173 |
| 2010s | 9,901 | 183 | #344 |
| 2020–25 | 2,726 | 81 | #814 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
64.0% of babies named Kelsey from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Kelsey is most popular
The index compares Kelsey's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Kelsey.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 2.22× | 502 |
| Wyoming | 1.74× | 359 |
| Oregon | 1.72× | 2,461 |
| South Dakota | 1.70× | 824 |
| New Hampshire | 1.66× | 797 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Kelsey and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Kelsey (this page) | 150,416 | 1992 |
| Kelsie | 19,545 | 1993 |
| Kelsi | 10,151 | 1991 |
| Kelsy | 3,231 | 1992 |
| Kelsee | 1,748 | 1993 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Kelsey's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Kelsey.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Kelsey (1992).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data