An Irish, English and Scottish surname, the Kelley family name is a form of the name Kelly. The Celtic form of Kelly can refer to a church. The original Gaelic spellings are O’Ceallaigh and Mac Ceallaigh. It refers to the children of Ceallach, which means ‘strife’.

Spellings variations for Kelley include Kelly, O’Killia, Kellie, Kellyn, Kellog, Kellye and O’Kelly.

It is a very common and popular surname in Ireland, especially in the regions south of Dublin.

In Scotland the higher populations of Kelley families are in Lanarkshire County. In England the Kelley name is in London as well as Yorkshire and Lancashire counties. Some Kelleys are also in several Welsh counties.

Many Kelley families came to America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia due to the potato famine of the 1840s. The states of Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, California, Georgia and New Jersey within the United States have many families with the Kelley name.

Famous: Mike Kelley (professional football player), David E. Kelley (TV producer and writer), Nancy Kelley (film actress), DeForest Kelley (actor), Abby Kelley (19th century abolitionist and social reformer in America), Harold Kelley (rugby player from Australia), Kitty Kelley (American journalist and writer) and Clarence M. Kelley (director of the F.B.I.).