Show ContentsCalloway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Calloway is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in a small settlement in either Devon or Cornwall. Thus, Calloway is a habitation surname derived from the place, named Callway or Calway. 1

Alternatively, the name Calloway is a habitational name originally derived from the place name Caillouet-Orgeville in Eure, France. This place name comes from the Old Northern French word "cail(ou)," meaning "a pebble." 2 3

Early Origins of the Calloway family

The surname Calloway was first found in Gloucestershire where Philip de Chailewai was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1165. A few years later, Thomas de Kaillewey was found in Warwickshire in 1242 and in the same year William Callewey was in Devon. 3

Kellaways, also known as Tytherton Kellaways, is a village and former ecclesiastical parish in Langley Burrell and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Walter Calewey as holding lands in Buckinghamshire at that time. 1 The source, Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. list William Callewey in Devon and Cassadra Cayllewey, Wiltshire, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of the reign of King Edward I.) 4

Early History of the Calloway family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Calloway research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1497, 1543, 1547, 1549, 1552, 1557, 1558, 1559, 1564, 1580 and 1581 are included under the topic Early Calloway History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calloway Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Calloway family name include Callaway, Kelloway, Kellaway, Calloway and others.

Early Notables of the Calloway family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Robert Keilway, Kellway or Kaylway (1497-1581), legal reporter, "was in 1543 the recipient of a grant of the wardship and marriage of Eliz. and Anne Whittocksmede (Pat. Roll, 35 Henry VIII, p. 2), and subsequently of many other minors, a privilege from which he no doubt reaped considerable profit. In 1547 he was autumn reader at the Inner Temple, and in May of that year surveyor of the court of wards and liveries. In September 1547 he, with Lord St. John, was appointed to inquire into the state of the crown revenues, and...
Another 161 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Calloway Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calloway Ranking

In the United States, the name Calloway is the 1,638th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 5


Calloway migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Calloway surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Calloway Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Tho Calloway, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 6
  • Peter Calloway, who landed in Maryland in 1672 6
  • John Calloway, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 6
  • Anthony Calloway, aged 39, who arrived in Maryland in 1688 6
Calloway Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • William Calloway, who landed in Georgia in 1734 6
  • Will Calloway, who settled in Georgia in 1744 with his wife Susannah
Calloway Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Arthur Calloway, aged 30, who landed in New York in 1812 6
  • Jacob Calloway, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 6

Calloway migration to Australia +

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

Calloway Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Calloway who was convicted in Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • Mr. John Calloway (b. 1815), aged 19, Cornish settler convicted in Cornwall, UK on 27th March 1834, sentenced for life for highway robbery, transported aboard the ship "Hooghley" on 25th July 1834 to New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Mr. Richard Calloway, (b. 1804), aged 35, Cornish labourer travelling aboard the ship "Orient" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 4th April 1839 9
  • Mrs. Susan Calloway, (b. 1817), aged 22, Cornish servant travelling aboard the ship "Orient" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 4th April 1839 9
  • Mr. Richard Calloway, (b. 1803), aged 35, Cornish farm labourer, from St. Endellion, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Orient" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 4th April 1839 10
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Calloway (post 1700) +

  • Bertha Calloway (1925-2017), American community activist and historian
  • Blanche Calloway (1902-1978), American jazz singer, bandleader, and composer, older sister of Cab Calloway
  • Jordan Calloway (b. 1990), American actor
  • Northern James Calloway (1948-1990), American actor, voice artist, and comedian, best known for playing David on Sesame Street (1971 to 1989)
  • Kyle Calloway (1987-2016), American NFL football offensive tackle
  • Harrison Calloway (1941-2016), American musician and founding member of the Muscle Shoals Horns, an American brass section
  • Vanessa Bell Calloway (b. 1957), born Vanessa Bell, an African American actress, best known for her roles in Biker Boyz, Love Don't Cost a Thing, What's Love Got to Do with It, Coming to America, and Cheaper by the Dozen
  • Donald Calloway Jr. (b. 1979), American lawyer and politician, Member of the Missouri House of Representatives (2009-)
  • Colin Gordon Calloway (b. 1953), British American historian, recipient of the 2004 Merle Curti Award and the 2005 Ray Allen Billington Prize
  • A. J. Calloway (b. 1974), American television personality
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  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)
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 30th May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_convicts.pdf
  9. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, May 30). Ships' Passenger Lists of Arrivals in New South Wales on (1828 - 1842, 1848 - 1849) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1838_on.pdf
  10. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_bounty_nsw.pdf


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