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Kelise

Feminine · “my God is an oath”

1994high 2007
#11932 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare7 girls in 2025

There is half an Elizabeth hiding in a set of modern names. Liese is the German short form of Elisabeth, and it is the back end of Anneliese, Marliese and Kelise — an ending that looks invented and is actually a fragment of the most-shortened name in Europe.

How old is the name Kelise?

Kelise first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Kelise alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 700 people named Kelise are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Kelise most popular?

Kelise peaked in 2007, reaching #3289 nationally. Today it ranks #11932, 8,643 places below that high. See the whole 2007 chart.

I

Where it comes from

The story of Kelise

German makes double names by running two together and clipping the join: Anna plus Elisabeth gives Anneliese, Maria plus Elisabeth gives Marliese, Anna plus Marie gives Annemarie. Those are real names in Germany, given as units, and the second element is usually a shortened form rather than a whole name. Liese is Elisabeth cut down to two syllables, and it has been doing that job for four hundred years. American naming borrowed the sound without the system, so the ending now attaches to prefixes rather than to first names, and Kelise, Delise and Chelise are built the way Anneliese was without the half that made it mean anything.

Meaningscholars disagree

my God is an oath, at one remove

If the -lise ending is the German Liese, the source is Elisabeth, Hebrew Elisheva. If it is the French Elise, the same. The Ke- opening is a productive American prefix with no meaning of its own, so at best half the name has a documented sense.

How the name formed

  1. Elisheva
  2. Elisabeth
  3. Liese
  4. Kelise

Related forms: Anneliese

Pronouncing Kelise

kuh-LEECE

Two syllables, stress on the second, ending in a clean s. kuh-LEEZ, with a z, is also used and follows the German Liese, where the s is voiced.

Nicknames for Kelise

Moderate

LiseThe back half, and a full name of its own in German and Scandinavian use
KelThe first syllable
KikiA doubled affectionate form built on the opening
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

GIRLS NAMED · 1994–20255126051719942025

US babies named Kelise per year from 1994 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#32891990s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1994
Most girls named
200751 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#3289reached in 2007
Change vs 2024
−22.2%7 in 2025, from 9
Kelise sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2007, with 51 girls. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.

Kelise in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Anneliese in German — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida.

Kelises among us

700

people named Kelise are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 girl in 229,610 born in 2025 was named Kelise

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Shelena test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Kelise's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Shelena climbed just as high around 1976, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Shelena's path sketches the road Kelise is walking now.

40%chance Kelise will feel “very 2000s” by 2040
Kelise, aligned on its peakShelena· peak 1976not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-20 yrs+20 yrsShelena · #10039Kelise today
Kelise today is about where Shelena stood in 1994 — 18 years past a #3287-sized peak. Within 15 years, Shelena had drifted out of the mainstream charts.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Kelise sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.

A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored

Kelise beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Kelise in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Kelisethis name7#11932Vina7#11932Retta7#11932Missouri7#11932Iola7#11932

US girls given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • Half of it descends from one of the most documented names in Europe.
  • Three short forms, one of which is a full name elsewhere.
  • Two syllables and an unmistakable stress.
What to consider
  • The ending is said with an s by some families and a z by others.
  • Kelise, Kelyse and Kalise are all in use, so the spelling will be given.
  • Only half the name has a meaning; the prefix carries none.

Nobody names a baby alone.
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Kelise

Feminine · #11932 in the U.S.

♥ Love itNot for meLet’s talk about it
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Frequently asked

How many Kelises are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Kelise are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How popular is the name Kelise in 2025?
Kelise ranks #11932 among US girl names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Kelise?
About 1 in every 229,610 US girls born in 2025 was named Kelise — 7 in all.
Will my child share the name Kelise with classmates?
Kelise will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Kelise

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Vina#11932 · Retta#11932 · Missouri#11932 · Iola#11932 · Eddie#11932 · Thomas#11932 · Louetta#11932 · Elvina#11932

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Kelise? See the current top 100.

Choosing between Kelise and another name?

See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.

Compare side by side

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Cast your vote

Which one would you pick?

Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.

US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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