Show ContentsKelawaye History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Kelawaye is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in a small settlement in either Devon or Cornwall. Thus, Kelawaye is a habitation surname derived from the place, named Callway or Calway. 1

Alternatively, the name Kelawaye 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 Kelawaye family

The surname Kelawaye 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 Kelawaye family

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

Kelawaye Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Kelawaye has been spelled many different ways, including Callaway, Kelloway, Kellaway, Calloway and others.

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

Migration of the Kelawaye family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Kelawayes to arrive in North America: 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook