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Keeley History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Keeley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Keeley

What does the name Keeley mean?

There are a multitude of ancient meanings and variations associated with the Irish surnames that are now common throughout the modern world. The original Gaelic form of the name Keeley is Ó Cadhla, which is derived from the word "cadhla," which means "graceful." 1

Early Origins of the Keeley family

The surname Keeley was first found in County Waterford (Irish: Port Láirge), anciently the Deise region, on the South coast of Ireland in the Province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. They are of the ancient kingdom of Ossory (Osraighe), conjecturally descended from the Kings and gentry of Ossory, the progenitor of which was Conla, the second son of Breasal Breac, King of Leinster, and descended to Ceallach who was ancestor of Teige McGillpatrick. 2

"Kiely belongs mainly to Cos. Waterford and Limerick." 3

Early History of the Keeley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keeley research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1630, 1645, 1689 and 1863 are included under the topic Early Keeley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keeley Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Keeley. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Keily, Keiley, Keilly, Kiley, Kily, Kiely, Kieley, Keeley, Keely, Queally, Quealy, Quelly, O'Keily, O'Keilly, O'Kiely and many more.

Early Notables of the Keeley family

More information is included under the topic Early Keeley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keeley Ranking

In the United States, the name Keeley is the 6,961^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Keeley migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Keeley, or one of its variants:

Keeley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Keeley who landed in America in 1765

Keeley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

David Keeley, who arrived in America in 1801 5
Owen Keeley, who arrived in New York in 1837 5
Dennis and Ellen Keeley, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1849
A Keeley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
Michael Keeley, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1852
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Keeley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Keeley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Keeley who was convicted in Berkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dick" on 2nd October 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mary Keeley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "William Watson" in 1849 7

Keeley migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Keeley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Joseph Keeley, aged 44, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alumbagh" in 1875 8
Elizabeth Keeley, aged 46, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alumbagh" in 1875 8
Kesiah Keeley, aged 24, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alumbagh" in 1875 8
Giles Keeley, aged 22, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alumbagh" in 1875 8
Elizabeth Keeley, aged 169, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alumbagh" in 1875 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Keeley (post 1700) +

Irene Patricia Murphy Keeley (b. 1944), United States jurist
James Hugh Keeley Jr. (1898-1975), American diplomat
Burton Elwood "Burt" Keeley (1879-1952), American Major League Baseball pitcher
Steven Bo Keeley (b. 1949), American adventurer, naturalist, holistic healer, veterinarian, professional athlete
Wayne J Keeley (b. 1956), American practicing attorney, author, teacher, producer and director
Leslie Keeley (1836-1900), American physician
Fred Keeley (b. 1950), American politician
Robert Keeley (1793-1869), English actor-manager, comedian and female impersonator, one of a family of sixteen children, born in 1793 at 3 Grange Court, Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields 9
Andrew James 'Andy' Keeley (b. 1956), former English professional footballer
Robert Keeley (b. 1960), British composer and pianist
... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Keeley family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Thomas Keeley (1893-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 10

Sources +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Dick
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque WILLIAM WATSON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849WilliamWatson.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 26 October 2020
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html