Keeton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Keeton

What does the name Keeton mean?

The name Keeton first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in either of the settlements called Ketton in Durham or Rutland, or in the place called Keaton in Ermington, in Devon. 1 The surname Keeton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Keeton family

The surname Keeton was first found in Leicestershire. One of the first records of the family was Robert of Ketton (Latin: Robertus Cetenensis) (c. 1110-1160), an English medieval theologian, astronomer, translator and Arabist. His is thought to have been from village in Rutland, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. Today Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands but dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Chetone. 2 It is thought that the village name originated from "an old river name, possibly a derivation of the Celtic "ced" meaning "wood" + the Old English word "ea" meaning "river." 3

The second record of the family was Robert de Keton who was listed in the Calendar of Inquisitiones post mortem from Nottinghamshire in 1362. 4 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Johannes de Keton; and Henry de Ketton. Thomas Keton was rector of Langale and Kirksted, Norfolk in 1506. 5

Early History of the Keeton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keeton research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1134, 1143, 1362, 1379, 1397, 1399, 1423, 1500, 1506 and 1805 are included under the topic Early Keeton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keeton Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Keeton has appeared include Keaton, Keeton, Ketton, Keton, Ketyn, Keetyn and many more.

Early Notables of the Keeton family

Notables of the family at this time include Robert of Ketton, a medieval theologian, who traveled to France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States in Palestine with fellow scholar Herman of Carinthia, in 1134. In...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Keeton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keeton Ranking

In the United States, the name Keeton is the 3,464^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6

Keeton migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Keeton arrived in North America very early:

Keeton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Keeton, who arrived in Virginia in 1679 7

Keeton Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

James Keeton, aged 52, who immigrated to the United States, in 1908
Edgar Keeton, aged 18, who immigrated to the United States from Worksop, England, in 1909
Martha Keeton, aged 37, who landed in America from Sheffield, England, in 1911
George Keeton, aged 22, who settled in America, in 1917
Stanley Keeton, aged 22, who immigrated to America from Sheffield, England, in 1921

Contemporary Notables of the name Keeton (post 1700) +

Rickey Keeton (b. 1957), former Major League Baseball pitcher
Kathryn "Kathy" Keeton (1939-1997), South-African born, American magazine publisher
Robert Ernest Keeton (1919-2007), American lawyer, jurist, and legal scholar
William Tinsley Keeton (1933-1980), American Biology Professor at Cornell University
William D. Keeton, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Idaho, 1948; Justice of Idaho State Supreme Court, 1949-59 8
Ruth Keeton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1988 8
Herman A. Keeton, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1956 8
Albert "Bob" Keeton (1918-1996), English professional footballer
Hadyn Keeton (1847-1921), English cathedral organist
Frederick William Keeton (1855-1911), English cricketer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html