Kelle as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Kelle

What is the meaning of the name Kelle ?

The baby name Kelle is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkɛli/ (KEL-ee).

Kelle is Irish in Origin.

Kelle is a modern respelling of Kelly, the Anglicized Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh. The personal name Ceallach behind the surname has an uncertain etymology: scholars have connected it to ceall, “church,” to ceallach, “strife/war,” and to a sense of “bright-headed.” Thus Kelle ultimately carries the idea of “descendant of Ceallach,” with meanings ranging from religious to martial or descriptive. The Ó Ceallaigh families were prominent in medieval Ireland, especially in Connacht, anchoring the name in long Gaelic tradition.

As a given name, Kelly crossed from surname to forename in the English-speaking world in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming widely used for both sexes and peaking for girls in the United States in the 1970s. Kelle emerged in the later 20th century as a sleek, phonetic variant. Other spellings include Kelly, Kelley, Kelli, Kellie, and Kellee; related Gaelic forms are Ceallach (masculine) and Ceallaigh (genitive). Short forms include Kel.