O'Kely History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The roots of the Anglo-Saxon name O'Kely come from when the family resided in Buckinghamshire. The surname O'Kely derives from the Old English word Aker-leah, which means "acre meadow owner." 1

Early Origins of the O'Kely family

The surname O'Kely was first found in Buckinghamshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times. The name literally mane "dweller at the Acre-Lea, i.e., a common field divided into plots of various sizes. [Middle English aker, Old English aecer, a division of land +M.E. ley, Old English leah, a lea, field]." 2

Early History of the O'Kely family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Kely research. Another 245 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1273, 1300, 1500, 1610, 1665, 1685, 1691, 1721, 1725, 1740 and 1769 are included under the topic Early O'Kely History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Kely 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. O'Kely has been recorded under many different variations, including Ackerly, Ackerley, Acerly, Akerley, Akeley, Acle, Ackle, Acley, Acly and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Kely family

Distinguished members of the family include Roger Acherley (1665?-1740), Welsh lawyer, constitutional writer, and politician, the son and heir of John Acherley of Stanwardine, or Stottesden, Shropshire, where he was the representative of a long-established family. Roger was admitted a student of the Inner Temple on 6 March 1685, and called to the bar on 24 May 1691. For some years Acherley was engaged in disputing the will of Thomas Vernon, who died in 1721, by...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Kely Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Kely migration to the United States +

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 O'Kely or a variant listed above:

O'Kely Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Sisly Okely, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 3
Margaret Okely, who landed in Maryland in 1678 3

O'Kely Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Okely, who arrived in New York, NY in 1742 3
William Okely, who arrived in New York, NY in 1742 3
William Okely, who landed in New York, NY in 1754 3

O'Kely migration to Australia +

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

O'Kely Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Taylah Okely, British convict who was convicted in Agra, India for life, transported aboard the "Buffalo" on 4th May 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4

Citations +

Surnames from the U.S.A. and Canada. Family Name Researchers, Inc., Toronto, 1975.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/buffalo