Is Kelly a County Kildare name?
Yes, as Kildare as a name gets. Kelly was the most numerous surname in the county in the 1890 returns this site is built on, with 40 birth registrations against 34 for Murphy, and Kelly stood second only to Murphy in Ireland as a whole. The name, Ó Ceallaigh in Irish, gathers around several old families, the Uí Maine Kellys of the Galway and Roscommon country and the Kellys of Brega among them, and in Kildare it is spread right across the county rather than gathered in one parish: the mark of a name long settled everywhere. You will find Kellys in the registers from Athy to Celbridge.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
Sources
- R. E. Matheson, Special Report on Surnames in Ireland; Patrick Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
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