Keighley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestors of the name Keighley date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence in the settlement of Keighley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 2 The surname Keighley 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 Keighley family

The surname Keighley was first found in Yorkshire at Keighley, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the E. division of the wapentake of Staincliffe and Ewcross. 3 The first listing of the place name was Chichelai in the Domesday Book of 1086. 4

"This place, anciently Kyghelay, was for many generations the property of the Kyghelay family, who either gave their name to, or derived it from, the manor; and of whom Gilbertus Kyghelay, of Utley, was buried here in 1203, according to an inscription on a stone still remaining in the parish church. In the reign of Edward I. Henry de Kyghelay, a member of the family, obtained the grant of a weekly market and an annual fair, with privilege of free warren for the inhabitants." 3

The first on record was found in the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. : Henry Kighele, Lancashire, I Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 5

Henry de Kythelay was also found in Yorkshire in the 14th century. 6

Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Johannes de Kyghelay as holding lands there at that time. 7 A well-educated family, the Register of the University of Oxford had two early entries for the family: John Kighlye, Lincolnshire, 1576: and Philip Kyghley, or Kygleye, Worcestershire, 1583.

Early History of the Keighley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keighley research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1186, 1580, 1620, 1621, 1643, 1648, 1650, 1651, 1662, 1663, 1686, 1692, 1719, 1789, 1803, 1824 and 1872 are included under the topic Early Keighley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keighley Spelling Variations

Keighley has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Keighley have been found, including Keightley, Keighley, Keitley, Keightly and others.

Early Notables of the Keighley family

Distinguished members of the family include Thomas Keightley (1650-1719), an English courtier and official in Ireland, Vice-Treasurer of Ireland in 1686, Commissioner of the Irish Revenue (1692), progenitor of the family in Ireland. He was the "son of William Keightley (b. 1621) of Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire, by his wife Anne, daughter of John Williams of London, whom he married in 1648 (Chester, Marriage Licenses, ed. Foster, p. 783). His paternal grandfather...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Keighley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Keighley family to Ireland

Some of the Keighley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 111 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Keighley migration to Australia +

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

Keighley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Keighley, English convict who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 8th July 1840, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
John Keighley, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "South Sea"

Keighley 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:

Keighley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Keighley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Wild Duck" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 20th December 1867 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Keighley (post 1700) +

William Jackson Keighley (1889-1984), American stage actor and Hollywood film director, supervisor of the U.S. Army Signal Corp's motion picture unit during World War II
Brian Douglas Keighley JP MBE FRCGP (1948-2015), Scottish general practitioner, Chair of the Scottish Council of the British Medical Association (BMA) from 2009 to 2014
Daniel Keighley (1953-2015), New Zealand music festival promoter and band manager
Alice Keighley (b. 1993), Australian team handball player on the Australian national team
William Geoffrey Keighley OAM (1925-2005), English barrister, businessman, first-class cricketer, settling in Australia, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
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)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html