Kelsey

The name Kelsey first appeared on the U.S. popularity charts in 1970 for boys and 1977 for girls. Within one year of her debut, Kelsey for girls overtook her male counterpart in terms of popularity. It eventually would become such a popular name for little girls that American parents began to lose interest in the name for boys. It was basically emasculated as a male name. The year 1996 marks the last year that Kelsey showed up on the charts as a boy’s name. Kelsey is now almost exclusively a female name. It only took Kelsey 10 years to achieve a spot on the Top 100 list of most commonly used girl names in 1987. But she wasn’t ready to stop there. The height of Kelsey’s popularity for little girls was in 1992 when the name ranked 23rd most popular girl’s name in America. Her day in the sun was mainly between the late 1980s throughout the 1990s. As we’ve entered this new century, the name Kelsey may just stay behind. Her usage in the late 20th century was so fast and furious; the name became an over-used trend. It appears as if American parents may be tiring of it. Regardless, it has a few things going for it: one, it’s an ever-popular K name; two, it’s part of the Last Names First trend; three, it has that darling “ee” sounding suffix that’s all the rage (Kayley, Karley, Kennedy, Kenzie, Kinley, Khloe, Kylie). Actually, come to think of it, maybe these names are becoming a little kitschy. After the letter A, K is the most common first letter of female names. It you’re trying to be different, open your mind to some other ideas. Although if you think you have a little future sailor on your hands, then by all means, Kelsey is a fantastic choice!