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The name Keeton first arose amongst the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from their having lived in either of the settlements called Ketton in Durham or Rutland, or in the place called Keaton in Ermington, in Devon. 1 The surname Keeton belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
The surname Keeton was first found in Leicestershire. One of the first records of the family was Robert of Ketton (Latin: Robertus Cetenensis) (c. 1110-1160), an English medieval theologian, astronomer, translator and Arabist. His is thought to have been from village in Rutland, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. Today Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands but dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Chetone. 2 It is thought that the village name originated from "an old river name, possibly a derivation of the Celtic "ced" meaning "wood" + the Old English word "ea" meaning "river." 3
The second record of the family was Robert de Keton who was listed in the Calendar of Inquisitiones post mortem from Nottinghamshire in 1362. 4 The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Johannes de Keton; and Henry de Ketton. Thomas Keton was rector of Langale and Kirksted, Norfolk in 1506. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Keeton research. Another 248 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1134, 1143, 1362, 1379, 1397, 1399, 1423, 1500, 1506 and 1805 are included under the topic Early Keeton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Keeton has appeared include Keaton, Keeton, Ketton, Keton, Ketyn, Keetyn and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Robert of Ketton, a medieval theologian, who traveled to France, the Byzantine Empire, and the Crusader States in Palestine with fellow scholar Herman of Carinthia, in 1134. In...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Keeton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Keeton is the 3,464th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6
At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Keeton arrived in North America very early: