Show ContentsCaulaway History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestors of the name Caulaway date back to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from their residence in a small settlement in either Devon or Cornwall. Thus, Caulaway is a habitation surname derived from the place, named Callway or Calway. 1

Alternatively, the name Caulaway 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 Caulaway family

The surname Caulaway 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 Caulaway family

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

Caulaway Spelling Variations

Caulaway has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Many variations of the name Caulaway have been found, including Callaway, Kelloway, Kellaway, Calloway and others.

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

Migration of the Caulaway family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Caulaways to arrive on North American shores: Edmund Callaway who settled in Virginia in 1639; and his descendants would later become recorded as a distinguished family of the U.S.A. the history of which can be found in Burke's. Later W.M. Callaway arrived in San Francisco Cal. in 1850.



  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)


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