Show ContentsKess History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Kess family

The surname Kess was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they held a family seat from very early times.

Early History of the Kess family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kess research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1303, 1435, 1531, 1648 and 1675 are included under the topic Early Kess History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kess Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Kess has been spelled Cassie, Casse, Cassy, Cassye, Caisey, Caissey, Caissy, Kasey, Casey, Kassie, Kasse, Cassey and many more.

Early Notables of the Kess family

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


United States Kess migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Kess Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Frederick Kess, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1876 1


  1. 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)


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