NameCensus.

UK girl's name

Kelsie

A feminine name of Scottish origin, a variant of Kelsey, meaning "ship's navigator".

For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.

Kelsie is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Kelsie popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2927, with 8 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2006, with 134 births.

This profile covers 1,835 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1996 to 2023. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.

The latest count is about 6% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 2,242 living people in the UK are called Kelsie. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2024 or 2026.

Key insights

  • Kelsie ranked #2927 for girls in England and Wales in 2023, with 8 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2006, when 134 girls were registered as Kelsie.
  • Kelsie ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.
  • About 2,242 living people in the UK are estimated to have Kelsie as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.

Latest rank (E&W)

#2927

2023

Births in 2023

8

Latest year

Peak year

2006

134 births

Estimated living

2,242

2026

Meaning

What does Kelsie mean?

The name Kelsie is a modern variant of the Scottish name Kelsey, which itself is derived from the Old English words "ceol" meaning ship and "ey" meaning island. This suggests that the name originated in coastal regions of Scotland where seafaring was a way of life.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name was Kelsey, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 AD, a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In these early records, the name referred to a location in Lincolnshire, England called "Cauenay" which later became known as Kelsey.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Kelsey Bardolf, an English noblewoman who lived in the 12th century. She was the wife of William Bardolf, Lord of Wormegay, and their family held lands in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Another notable historical figure with the name was Kelsey Grammer, an American actor and producer best known for his role as Dr. Frasier Crane on the TV series Frasier. He was born in 1955 and has won numerous awards throughout his career.

In the 16th century, there was a Kelsey Rayner who served as a Member of Parliament for Exeter in 1553 during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.

Moving into the 20th century, Kelsey Hibbert was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Toronto St. Patricks and Hamilton Tigers in the National Hockey League from 1924 to 1927.

While the name Kelsie is a more recent spelling variation, it shares the same rich historical roots as the traditional Scottish name Kelsey, tracing back to the coastal regions of Scotland and early English settlements.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Kelsie over time

The chart below shows babies named Kelsie registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.

For Kelsie, the clearest high point is 2006. The latest England and Wales figure is 8 births in 2023, compared with 134 at the peak.

Babies born per year

Kelsie
03467101134199620092023

Decades

Kelsie by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Kelsie was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.

Decade Average rank Total births Years covered
2020s #2900 40 4
2010s #1074 433 10
2000s #377 1,035 10
1990s #392 327 4

Geography

Where Kelsie is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Kelsie. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.

Kelsie ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #407 in 2024.

Scotland
4
Northern Ireland
3

Across the UK

Kelsie in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#652 in 2021

30 years of NRS records, 353 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#407 in 2024

15 years of NISRA records, 68 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Kelsie

  • Kelsie Burrows

    association football player

    Northern Ireland footballer

    2001-

  • Kelsie Campbell

    swimmer

    Jamaican swimmer

    1998-

  • Kelsie Gibson

    rower

    British rower

    1993-

Related

Names similar to Kelsie

FAQ

Kelsie: questions and answers

How popular is the name Kelsie in the UK right now?

In 2023, Kelsie was ranked #2927 for girls in England and Wales, with 8 births registered.

When was Kelsie most popular?

The peak year on record was 2006, with 134 babies registered as Kelsie in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Kelsie?

A feminine name of Scottish origin, a variant of Kelsey, meaning "ship's navigator".

How many people are called Kelsie in the UK?

A total of 1,835 babies have been registered as Kelsie across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 353 more in Scotland and 68 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Kelsie most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Kelsie ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #407 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.

Which records is this page based on?

The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.