Kelling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Kelling is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a person who fished codfish and was accordingly named after the fish. The surname Kelling is derived from the Old English word keling, which means young codfish. 1 2

Occasionally, the name is derived from residence in the settlement of Keeling in the county of Norfolk. 1 3

Early Origins of the Kelling family

The surname Kelling was first found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where Chellinge was listed in Yorkshire. Over the years, this place name evolved to be known as Killing or Keeling. 4

In Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Ælfuine Celing was registered there c. 1095. Later in Suffolk, Robert Kelyng was listed in 1277. 1

The noted historian Bardsley, notes the name is "local, 'of Keelin.' I suspect the Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire Keelings are of local origin. But I cannot find the spot. The final 'g' is in this case an excrescence, as in Jennings, Hewlings." 2

We did find this interesting passage in the source Baines' Lancashire: "In 56 Henry III (1272), Henry de Lasey granted for his service all that land which William of Keelin and William his son formerly held, and which reverted to the grantor by the felony of William de Keelin." 5 Unfortunately, no other details were provided.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: Walter de Kelin and Osbert Kelyng, in Huntingdonshire. 2

Early History of the Kelling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kelling research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1240, 1372, 1463, 1482, 1577, 1586, 1604, 1607, 1618, 1619, 1620, 1625, 1626, 1649, 1661, 1663, 1671, 1683 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Kelling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kelling Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Kelling has undergone many spelling variations, including Keeling, Keiling, Kealing and others.

Early Notables of the Kelling family

Notables of the family at this time include John Keeling (1586-1649), an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625 and 1626. He was Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme.Captain William Keeling (1577-1619), of the East India Company, was a British sea captain. He commanded the Susanna on the second East India Company voyage in 1604. During this voyage his crew was reduced to fourteen men and one of the ships vanished. On his return, King James I appointed Keeling a Groom of the Chamber, and in c. 1618 he was named Captain of Cowes Castle on...
Another 132 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kelling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kelling Ranking

In the United States, the name Kelling is the 12,809^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Kelling family to Ireland

Some of the Kelling family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kelling migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Kelling were among those contributors:

Kelling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Kelling, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 7

Kelling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Frederick Kelling, who landed in Indiana in 1852 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Kelling (post 1700) +

George L. Kelling, American criminologist, an emeritus professor at Rutgers-Newark
George H. Kelling, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1920 8
John Fedor Augustus Kelling JP (1820-1909), known as Fedor Kelling, Prussian-born, New Zealand farmer and politician, Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Waimea (1859-1860)
Carl Friederich Christian Kelling (1818-1898), Prussian-born, New Zealand emigration agent, farmer and community leader, older brother of Fedor Kelling
Graeme Kelling (1957-2004), Scottish musician, the original guitarist with the Scottish pop band, Deacon Blue

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Baines Thomas & William Fairbairn, Lancashire and Cheshire, Past and Present History of Counties London: William MacKenzie, 1867, Digital, 4 vols
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html