Kelsey
A mainly English surname that most often points to a place-name, especially in Lincolnshire or Cheshire.
The #2,501 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,358 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kelsey is usually explained as a locational surname, taken from one of the English places called Kelsey, especially in Lincolnshire. Older writers also connected it with Kelsall in Cheshire, and some suggested a Cornish-British interpretation meaning something like “dry neck” or “dry ridge.” In practice, the surname may have arisen from more than one place of origin, so the name is best understood as a place-based surname with a somewhat mixed etymological history.
History
The name is recorded in England by the medieval period and later appears in different counties, including Lincolnshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire forms linked by later surname writers to nearby places. Lower and Bardsley both treat it as local in origin, while Arthur adds a Cornish-British explanation for the place-name itself. It spread widely in Britain and later to North America with migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lincolnshire has both North Kelsey and South Kelsey, which is one reason surname writers often linked the name there.
From the historical record
“Durliam. KELSEY. Xorth and South Kelsey are parishes in co. Lincoln. KELSO. A town and parish in Rox- burghshire. The family were in Ayrshire at an early period. Hugh de Kelso is men- tioned in Ragman Roll, 1296. B.L.G. KELSON. The son of Kell, i.e. Charles. KEJMBALL. The same as Kemble.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom