Keyes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Keyes dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived near a dock, and may have been employed there having derived from the Old French word kay, which became kaye, keye, and keay in Old English. These were all words for docks, or quays. The original bearers of the name undoubtedly lived near some docks, and could easily have been workers there. There is also the possibility that the name is derived from the Latin personal name Caius, a name that dates from the Roman occupation of Britain. There is a record of a Britius filius Kay in 1199, in Northants; filiusmeans “son of.” There is a third possibility; in the north of England ka was a word for jackdaw (derived from the Old Scandinavian), and was often applied as a nickname; some nicknames became surnames and this could be one of them. However, the majority of examples of this name found in England are of the local type. This makes this name a polygenetic name, which means that it arose spontaneously at different times and places and meant different things.

Early Origins of the Keyes family

The surname Keyes was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Keyes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keyes research.

Keyes Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Keyes have been found, including Keyes, Key, Keys, Keye, Keyse and others.

Keyes Ranking

In the United States, the name Keyes is the 1,991^st most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. [1]

 Migration of the Keyes family to Ireland

Some of the Keyes family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Keyes migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Keyes, or a variant listed above: 

Keyes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Daniell Keyes, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 [2]
• Thomas and Daniel Keyes, who settled in Virginia in 1638
• Walter Keyes, who landed in Virginia in 1650 [2]
• Solomon Keyes, who landed in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1654 [2]
• Rich Keyes, who landed in Virginia in 1658