Show ContentsKiley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

There are a multitude of ancient meanings and variations associated with the Irish surnames that are now common throughout the modern world. The original Gaelic form of the name Kiley is Ó Cadhla, which is derived from the word "cadhla," which means "graceful." [1]

Early Origins of the Kiley family

The surname Kiley was first found in County Waterford (Irish: Port Láirge), anciently the Deise region, on the South coast of Ireland in the Province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. They are of the ancient kingdom of Ossory (Osraighe), conjecturally descended from the Kings and gentry of Ossory, the progenitor of which was Conla, the second son of Breasal Breac, King of Leinster, and descended to Ceallach who was ancestor of Teige McGillpatrick. [2]

"Kiely belongs mainly to Cos. Waterford and Limerick." [3]

Early History of the Kiley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kiley research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1630, 1645, 1689 and 1863 are included under the topic Early Kiley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kiley Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Kiley family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Keily, Keiley, Keilly, Kiley, Kily, Kiely, Kieley, Keeley, Keely, Queally, Quealy, Quelly, O'Keily, O'Keilly, O'Kiely and many more.

Early Notables of the Kiley family

More information is included under the topic Early Kiley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kiley Ranking

In the United States, the name Kiley is the 8,127th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [4]


United States Kiley migration to the United States +

Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Kiley or one of its variants:

Kiley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J Kiley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [5]
  • Cornelius, Dennis, James, John, Martin, Patrick and William Kiley, who settled in Philadelphia between 1832 and 1877
  • Pat Kiley, aged 20, who landed in America from Ireland, in 1892
  • Ellen Kiley, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1893
  • Peter Kiley, aged 41, who landed in America, in 1893
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Kiley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Patrick Kiley, aged 27, who landed in America from Dundee, in 1903
  • Mary Kiley, aged 28, who settled in America from Donegal, in 1905
  • Charles Kiley, aged 23, who landed in America from Yarmouth, in 1905
  • Margaret J. Kiley, aged 47, who immigrated to the United States, in 1906
  • Josie Kiley, aged 29, who landed in America from Tramare Co., Waterford, Ireland, in 1906
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Kiley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kiley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Kiley, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1834
  • Maurice Kiley, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1835
  • James Kiley, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1841

Australia Kiley migration to Australia +

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

Kiley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • William Kiley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lord Ashburton" in 1850 [6]
  • Mary Kiley, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Admiral Boxer"

Contemporary Notables of the name Kiley (post 1700) +

  • John Frederick Kiley (1859-1940), American Major League Baseball outfielder and pitcher
  • Kevin Kiley Sr., American sportscaster and talk show host
  • Roger Joseph Kiley (1900-1974), United States federal judge
  • John Kiley (1912-1993), American organist at Fenway Park from 1953 to 1989
  • Kevin Kiley, American professional wrestler also known as Alex Riley
  • Kevin C. Kiley, American retired Lieutenant General of the United States Army
  • Robert R. Kiley (b. 1935), American public transit planner and supervisor
  • Daniel Urban Kiley (1912-2004), noted American landscape architect in the modernist style
  • Richard Paul Kiley (1922-1999), American stage, television, and film actor
  • Nathan Kiley (b. 1981), English stage actor
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
  3. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. 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)
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LORD ASHBURTON 1850. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850LordAshburton.gif


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