Ket History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• England
• Ireland

Etymology of Ket

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Ket family have grown. The name Ket was given to a member of the family who was a person who had acquired the nickname of the kite, which was originally derived from the Old English word cyta, referring to the "kite" the bird of prey. 1 2 In this case the original bearer of the surname earned this name due to their wild, and high-spirited nature.

Early Origins of the Ket family

Early History of the Ket family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ket research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1483, 1485, 1507, 1513, 1521, 1524, 1526, 1534, 1535, 1537, 1540, 1547, 1549, 1589, 1616, 1632, 1638, 1660, 1662, 1668, 1688, 1702, 1710, 1713, 1714, 1724, 1725, 1739, 1741, 1745, 1755, 1761, 1766, 1783, 1784 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Ket History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ket 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 Ket family name include Kyte, Kite, Keyt, Keyte, Kight, Kyteson and others.

Early Notables of the Ket family

Distinguished members of the family include

• Robert "Ben" Kett, an English yeoman farmer in Norfolk who joined rebels as their leader in what was later to be known as Kett's Rebellion on July 8th 1549; he was later tried for treason and hanged f...
• His nephew, Francis Kett (c.1547-1589), was an Anglican clergyman from Wymondham, Norfolk, burned for heresy; and Sir Robert Kite, was Sheriff of London for 1761 and Lord Mayor of London for 1766

Migration of the Ket family to Ireland

Some of the Ket family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 165 words (12 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ket family

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 Ket surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Ann Kite who settled in Virginia in 1660; John Kite settled in Virginia in 1656; Patience Kite settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1718; Charles and James Kite settled in Pennsylvania in 1773.