Given name & surname
Keli
Keli is a masculine given name. It is used in Icelandic.
Meaning & origin
How it developed
In Icelandic usage, Keli is a diminutive of HRAFNKELL. In Icelandic usage, Keli is a diminutive of Þorkell.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1955. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Keli through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,405
- 49 boys · 4,356 girls
- Most popular year
- 1979
- 190 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #11,424 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,424 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 190 in 1979. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,280 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Keli’s family of names
In Icelandic usage, Keli is a diminutive of HRAFNKELL. In Greek usage, Keli as a surname is a transliteration of Κέλη. In Icelandic usage, Keli is a diminutive of Þorkell.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Keli
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Keli, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kami
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5% boys · 95% girls
Kateri
Kateri is a feminine given name from Mohawk. It is used in French.
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Corie
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Neely
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>99% girls
Cori
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7% boys · 93% girls
Kelsi
“from the island of ships; of the ship's victory”
>99% girls
Corrie
“from the hollow; of the churning waters” · “referring to a horn”
7% boys · 93% girls
Candice
“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”
>99% girls