Kelso
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- KEL-soh
- Origin
- Scottish
- US rank, 2025
- #6,140 for boys
Kelso is a boys' name of Scottish origin, meaning “chalk hill”. In 2025 it ranked 6,140th for boys in the US (14 babies).
What does Kelso mean?
Scottish: Scottish place name of Old English or Cumbric origin
“chalk hill”
From the town of Kelso in the Scottish Borders, known for its ruined twelfth-century abbey.
Is Kelso a girl's or a boy's name?
Kelso is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 14 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Kelso in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2023, with 5 boys.
Kelso in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | #3,712 |
| 2022 | 1 | #6,413 |
| 2021 | 1 | #6,364 |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
| 2019 | 1 | #6,258 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 1 | #6,312 |
| 2016 | 1 | #6,416 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 1 | #6,332 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 1 | #5,936 |
| 2007 | 4 | #3,748 |
| 2006 | 3 | #4,204 |
| 2005 | 1 | #5,109 |
How popular is Kelso in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 6,140th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 14 about 1 in 120,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 45% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 14 boys in the US were named Kelso, making it the 6,140th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,447th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 24 boys. It first appears in the records in 1915.
Half of all the boys named Kelso in the US since 1880 were born between 1942 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Kelso in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #6,140 |
| 2024 | 24 | #4,318 |
| 2023 | 23 | #4,452 |
| 2022 | 19 | #5,015 |
| 2021 | 13 | #6,330 |
| 2020 | 16 | #5,447 |
| 2019 | 16 | #5,551 |
| 2018 | 10 | #7,613 |
| 2017 | 13 | #6,334 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,659 |
| 2015 | 10 | #7,486 |
| 2014 | 9 | #8,124 |
| 2013 | 8 | #8,784 |
| 2012 | 7 | #9,703 |
| 2011 | 7 | #9,593 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9,686 |
| 2009 | 10 | #7,687 |
| 2008 | 8 | #9,013 |
| 2007 | 14 | #5,898 |
| 2006 | 15 | #5,521 |
| 2005 | 5 | #11,464 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 6 | #9,574 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,048 |
| 2001 | 5 | #10,548 |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 5 | #8,693 |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 5 | #3,428 |
| 1943 | 5 | #3,536 |
| 1942 | 7 | #2,939 |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 6 | #3,252 |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,367 |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 7 | #3,094 |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 5 | #4,195 |
| 1924 | 7 | #3,504 |
| 1923 | 5 | #4,236 |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 12 | #2,501 |
| 1920 | 5 | #4,284 |
| 1919 | 7 | #3,390 |
| 1918 | 6 | #3,727 |
| 1917 | 8 | #2,955 |
| 1916 | 6 | #3,515 |
| 1915 | 6 | #3,391 |
Names like Kelso
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Theo, Enzo, Milo, Arlo, Albie, Leo, Finley, Otto, Oakley, Hugo, Hudson, Kylo
Names related to Kelso
More Scottish names
Isla, Logan, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Brody, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox, Dallas
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Kelso: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/kelso, updated 20 October 2026.