Kightley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The origins of the Kightley name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the settlement of Keighley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1 2 The surname Kightley 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 Kightley family

The surname Kightley 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 Kightley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kightley 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 Kightley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kightley 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 Kightley were recorded, including Keightley, Keighley, Keitley, Keightly and others.

Early Notables of the Kightley 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 Kightley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kightley family to Ireland

Some of the Kightley 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.

Kightley 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 Kightley family emigrate to North America:

Kightley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Luke Lawson Kightley, who arrived in America in 1832 8

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)
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)