Ketsh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Ketsh surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name originated with an early member who was a person who because of their physical characteristics and physical abilities was referred to as kedge a Old English word that described someone who was brisk or active. 1

Although one notes source has a different understanding of the origin on the name. In this case, Ketsh is from the "Middle English [word] keech ‘a lump of congealed fat; the fat of a slaughtered animal rolled up into a lump’, used in the 16th century for a butcher: ‘Did not goodwife Keech the Butchers wife come in then?’ (Henry IV); ‘I wonder, That such a Keech can with his very bulke Take vp the Rayes o’ th’ beneficiall Sun, And keepe it from the Earth’ (Henry VIII), where the reference is to Cardinal Wolsey, a butcher’s son. " 2

Early Origins of the Ketsh family

The surname Ketsh was first found in Cambridgeshire and Surrey where Reginald and Hugo Keche were listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1206 and 1219. 2

Years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included Peter Kech, Norfolk; and Adam Kyg, Buckinghamshire. 1

In Somerset, early rolls there show John Keche holding lands 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward III's reign.) 3

In Norfolk, John Keche, was rector of Erpingham in 1430 and "a brass plate in the ancient church of St. Helen's, Norwich, reads: 'Hie jacet corpus Dni. Edmundi Keche, presbyteri' " 4

Early History of the Ketsh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ketsh research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1620, 1621, 1640, 1673, 1686 and 1704 are included under the topic Early Ketsh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ketsh Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Ketsh has been recorded under many different variations, including Ketch, Keech, Keach, Kedge and others.

Early Notables of the Ketsh family

Distinguished members of the family include Hugo Ketch of Cheshire; John (Jack) Ketch (died 1686), one of King Charles II's executioners, who became quite infamous for the terrible suffering of his victims; his name has lived on as slang for the gallows or even for death itself. Benjamin Keach (1640-1704)...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ketsh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ketsh family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ketsh or a variant listed above: Margaret and Susan Ketch, who settled in New England in 1665 with their husbands; as well as John Ketch, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1741.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.
Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print