Keddie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

In ancient Scotland, the ancestors of the Keddie family were part of a tribe called the Picts. The name Keddie is derived from the Gaelic surname Mac Adaidh, which means son of Adam. Addie, Addy, Adie, Eadie, Eddie, and Edie are all pet forms or double diminutives of the name Adam.

Early Origins of the Keddie family

The surname Keddie was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they held a family seat at Strathardle, in the valley of the Ardle Water.

The first of the Clan was Gillimichael M'Ade, famous in Strathardle tradition, who was alive in 1232. The name took on many forms as it emerged from the original Gaelic. MacAddie, MacKeddie, MacChaddy, and when it became fashionable to drop the Mac it became Addie, Keddie, Chaddy, even MacKiddie, and so on.

Their home and clan seat was deep in the forest of Strathardle at Petcarene. Some members of the Fergusons of the Balmacruchie became McAdies.

ONe of the first records of the family was "the ship of John Kede, a Scotsman, was wrecked at Holkham, Norfolk, England, in 1388," 1 but from that early recording we must wait almost two centuries to find the next. The same source note that "John Kady was in record in Dysart, 1577, Margaret Keddie in Falsyde, parish of Roberton, 1623, and Dorathia Kadie, was heir of Alexander Kadie, tailor in Edinburgh, 1616. " 1

Early History of the Keddie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keddie research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1635, 1639, 1647, 1664 and 1670 are included under the topic Early Keddie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keddie Spelling Variations

The arts of spelling and translation were yet in their infancies when surnames began, so there are an enormous number of spelling variations of the names in early Scottish records. This is a particular problem with Scottish names because of the numerous times a name might have been loosely translated to English from Gaelic and back. Keddie has been spelled MacAddie, McAddie, MacKeddie, McKeddy, MacKiddie, McKiddie, MacKedy, McKedy, MacKeddey, McKeddey, MacAdie, McAdie, Keddy, Keddie, Cheddy, Cheddie, Keddey, Kedy, Kiddie, Kiddy, Cheddey, MacEddie, McEddie, MacEddy, McEddy, Kede, Ceddy, Keddie, MacAdie and many more.

Early Notables of the Keddie family

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

Keddie 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:

Keddie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Helen Keddie, (b. 1855), aged 20, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Peter Denny" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 25th November 1875 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Keddie (post 1700) +

Gordon James Keddie (1944-2023), Scottish-born American pastor and theologian of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
Nikki R. Keddie (b. 1930), professor of Eastern, Iranian, and women's history awarded a 2004 Balzan Prize
Alex Keddie (b. 1981), Scottish footballer
Bob Keddie (b. 1946), former Australian rules footballer
David Keddie, Australian former footballer
Asher Keddie (b. 1974), Australian actress

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html