O'Kelly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
England

The Irish name O'Kelly has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Kelly is Ó Ceallaigh or Mac Ceallaigh. These names denote descendants of Ceallach. This personal name may be derived from the word "ceallach," which means "strife." 1

Early Origins of the O'Kelly family

The surname O'Kelly was first found in southwest Ireland, south of Dublin where they held a family seat from very ancient times. The Kelly surname is conjecturally descended from King Colla da Crioch, who died in 357 A.D.

While most of the family claim Ireland as their heritage, we did find one reference in England: "Kelly, [Devon] is noteworthy as affording one of the few continuing local instances of families seated on the estates whence they take name. The Kellys of Kelly have held this manor from the time of Henry II. at least. " 2

Henry II, King of England reigned from 1154 to 1189; so one may presume there is a relationship between the Irish and the English families, but this is the extent of our research at this time.

Early History of the O'Kelly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Kelly research. Another 112 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1238, 1253, 1518, 1555, 1597, 1621, 1690, 1695, 1699 and 1701 are included under the topic Early O'Kelly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Kelly Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname O'Kelly that are preserved in archival documents are Kelly, Kellie, O'Kelly, O'Killia and others.

Early Notables of the O'Kelly family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was Daniel MacKelly; Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (1555-1597), Irish occultist and self-declared spirit medium; Charles O’Kelly (1621-1695) was an Irish soldier and writer from Aughrim, County Galway; and James Gilliam, also known as James Kelly, (died 1701), an English pirate active in the Indian Ocean during the 1690s and was...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Kelly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Kelly Ranking

In the United States, the name O'Kelly is the 18,531^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the O'Kelly family

A great mass of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century, seeking relief from various forms of social, religious, and economic discrimination. This Irish exodus was primarily to North America. If the migrants survived the long ocean journey, many unfortunately would find more discrimination in the colonies of British North America and the fledgling United States of America. These newly arrived Irish were, however, wanted as a cheap source of labor for the many large agricultural and industrial projects that were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the western world. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the O'Kelly name: Brian Kelly, who purchased land in Virginia in 1635; David O'Killlia came to Old Yarmouth/New Dennis, MA in the early 1600s, where he changed his name to O'Kelley.

Contemporary Notables of the name O'Kelly (post 1700) +

Paddy O'Kelly (b. 1975), American professional baseball player
Don O'Kelly (1924-1966), American actor
Sean O'Kelly (b. 1975), Irish footballer
Sean O'Kelly (1883-1966), Irish journalist and politician, president of Ireland (1945-1959)
Seumas O'Kelly (1875-1918), Irish author and writer
Malcolm O'Kelly (b. 1974), Irish rugby player
John J. O'Kelly (1872-1957), Irish politician
James Joseph O'Kelly (1845-1916), Irish politician
Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1941), Irish painter
Seamus O'Kelly, Irish short story writer
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the O'Kelly family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. John J. O'Kelly, English 3rd Class passenger from England, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 4

The O'Kelly Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Turris Fortis Mihi Deus
Motto Translation: God is a strong tower to me.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/