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Keep History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Keep History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The many generations and branches of the Keep family can all place the origins of their surname with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name reveals that an early member worked as a person employed at a castle or a keep. 1 Some experts theorize that the name Keep may have been applied as an occupational surname to a jailer. 2

Early Origins of the Keep family

The surname Keep was first found in Sussex where the first record of the Keep family was Thomas ate Kepe who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. A few years later, Robert de Kepe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Cumberland (Cumbria) in 1332. 2

In Somerset, early rolls there revealed Roger Kep and Richard atte Kippe, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 3

"On his accession in 1272 the new King appointed Sir Adam Keeper of Woolner Forest, and we subsequently find him a great landowner in Somerset, Dorset, Sussex and Cambridge. His residence was in Hampshire, at a house called The Temple, that overlooked the forest. He was married three times. " 4

Early History of the Keep family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keep research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1617, 1643, 1652, 1661, 1668, 1688 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Keep History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keep Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Keep were recorded, including Keep, Keepe and others.

Early Notables of the Keep family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Henry Keepe (1652-1688), English antiquary, born in Feuter (now Fetter) Lane, in the parish of St...
Dunstan-in-the-West, London, in 1652, was the son of Charles Keepe, who served as a cornet in Sir...

Keep migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Keep family emigrate to North America:

Keep Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Lancelot Keep, who landed in Maryland in 1641 5
John Keep, who arrived in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1644 5
William Keep, who arrived in Maryland in 1679 5

Keep Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Keep, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1753
Johannes Keep, aged 24, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 5
James Keep, who settled in Virginia in 1774

Keep Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

B. G. Keep, who arrived in San Francisco in 1852

Keep migration to Australia +

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

Keep Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Keep, British convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. William Keep, English convict who was convicted in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Elizabeth Keep, English convict from Buckinghamshire, who was transported aboard the "America" on December 30, 1830, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
Mr. John Keep, English convict who was convicted in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Daniel Keep, English convict who was convicted in Lincolnshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10

Keep 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:

Keep Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Keep, aged 39, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
Jane Keep, aged 40, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
Thomas John Keep, aged 14, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
Hannah N. Keep, aged 9, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
George Keep, aged 6, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Keep (post 1700) +

Richard Keep, American actor, known for Last Call (2013), Paris, Hiver 2010 (2012) and About the Places We Dwell (2015)
Michael Keep (1922-2007), born Michael Capanna, American actor, known for Buried Alive (1990), 40 Guns to Apache Pass (1967) and The Way West (1967)
Robert Porter Keep (1844-1904), American teacher and scholar
Nathan Cooley Keep (1800-1875), American dentistry pioneer, founding Dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine
John Keep (1781-1870), American trustee of Oberlin College
Judith Keep (1944-2004), American judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (1980-2004)
Jason Keep (b. 1978), American basketball player
Albert Keep (1826-1907), American railroad financier, former president and director of the Chicago and North Western Railway
J. M. Keep, American politician, Circuit Judge in Wisconsin 1st Circuit, 1857-59 11
Edward P. Keep (b. 1848), American Republican politician, Lumber and coal dealer; Member of Michigan State House of Representatives from Calhoun County 1st District, 1899-1900 11
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
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 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 26) America voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1830 with 135 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/america/1830
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html