by Vicky Ann Smith

Created on: December 26, 2007

Kellie [KEL-ee], an Irish warrior name in origin, most commonly a family name; 2nd most popular after Murphy. It turned into a first name for Males and later Females. The highly used spelling is Kelly.

It was born from the Anglicization of the Gaelic clan O Ceallaigh, standing for descendant of Ceallaigh and contentious. It was adapted for soldiers to mean brave warrior and in America the pop culture changed it into warrior princess.

There was a dramatic rise in the popularity of the name in the 1950's; it steeply climbed until the Seventies where it began a gradual downward fall. Kellie is most often found in Ireland and Canada. Irish Settlers took the name to North America where officials on Ellis Ireland spelt the name Kelley.

If you gamble you know the phrase Kelly criterion' which maximizes the growth of winnings. There is a shade of green called Kelly; a tool (hemostat); Working on a rig you will find a Kelly drive and you may own a Jackson Kelly from the Jackson electric guitar family. There is even a Kelly Kettle.

In the United States many States have places called Kellie,
Kelly Kentucky
Kelly North Carolina
Kelly Wisconsin
Kelly Township Pennsylvania

And in Tasmania, the Kelly Basin.

There is a 1965 musical called Kelly; A German band The Kelly Family who came to fame in the 1980's. In 1998 a TV series titled Kelly Kelly' was aired and killed shortly afterwards. This is also the stage name for a WWE wrestler Barbie Blank. For the Play station two you can buy Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer. A novel Kellie's last chance' by Lorraine Trovato-Cantori, with the story of recovery from an eating disorder was published in 2001.

Famous people who hold the name include
Kellie Martin, born in 1975, California and star of many TV movies and the series ER'.
Kelly Brook, (1979), a UK model turned actress and working in Hollywood.
From China Kelly Chen (1973), an actress and Singer.
Singer Kelly Clarkson (1982) won two Grammy awards
US pop idol Kelly Pickler
Kelly Everts, a stripper and body builder.
Gene Kelly made the surname famous through singing and dancing in MGM musicals.
Kelly Chase (1967), a retired NHL hockey player.
Kelly Jones (1974), the famous Stereophonic's singer.

Many fictional characters have been given the name as well including Barbie's younger sister. Christina Applegate played the character on Married with Children'; Beverly Hills 90210 named a character Kelly, as did Saved by the Bell.

Variants of the name are Kelli, Kelley, Kellee, Kellianne, Kelleen, Kelleigh, Kellena and Kellye. The short Nickname turns to Kel.

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