Nook of Names

Keats

More surnames of Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-French origin which have yet to see much if any use as given names. Today is K’s turn, a letter with many rich pickings.

• Katerin — from a medieval form of Katherine.
• Kear, Keer — from Old English *cǣgere “key-maker.”
• Kearsley, Kersley — from Keresley, Warwickshire or one of the places called Kearsley. The former is the Old English personal name Cenhere, from cēne “brave” + here “army” + lēah “wood,” “woodland clearing,” “glade,” “pasture” and “meadow,” while the latter combines lēah with cærse “cress.”
• Keats — from Old English cӯta “rapacious person” or cӯte “hut.” What use the name has seen is probably mostly in honor of the poet John Keats (1795-1821).
• Keatley,  Keitley, Kitley — all from KEIGHLEY.
• Keble — Old English: *cybbel “cudgel,” used of someone who made them. The name of an Oxford University college, founded in the nineteenth century.
• Keele — from one of the places called Keal (ON: kjolr “ridge”) or Keele, Staffordshire (OE: cӯ “cows” + hyll “hill”).
• Keevil — from Keevil, Wiltshire. Old English cӯf “hollow” + lēah.
• Keighley — from the Yorkshire town. Although it often gets listed as a variant of Keeley, it hasn’t actually made the top 1000 in the US on its own. The correct pronounciation is “KEETH-lee”. Old English personal name Cyhha (meaning unknown) + lēah.
• Kelby — a name which dipped its toes in the top 1000 in the late 1980s and early 90s. From Kelby, Lincolnshire. Old Norse kjolr “ridge” + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement.”
• Kell — sometimes a variant of KEELE, otherwise from the Old Norse personal name *Kel, a short form of Ketill “(sacrificial) cauldron.”
• Kellett — from Kellett, Lancashire, or Kelleth, Cumbria. Both from Old Norse kelda “spring,” “fountain” + hlíth “slope.”
• Kellow –  from Kelloe, Durham. Old English “hill” celf “calf” + hlāw “hill.”
• Kember — from Old English cemban “to comb,” referring to a comber of wool or flax.
• Kempsey, Kimsey — from Kempsey, Worcestershire. Old English personal name *Cymi (unknown meaning) + ēg “island” or “dry land in a marsh.”
• Kempster — feminine form of KEMBER.
• Kenmore — from the Old English personal name Cynmær; cyne “royal” + mǣr “famous.”
• Kerrell, Kirrell, Kriel — from Criel-sur-Mer in France. Its medieval Latin name was Criolium; it is probably Celtic in origin, possibly related to the Common Celtic *koret “(stone) palisade.”
• Kersey, Kiersey — from Kersey, Suffolk. Old English cærse “cress” + ēg “island” or “dry land in a marsh.”
• Kesby, Kisby — from Keisby, Lincolnshire. Old Norse personal name Kisi + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement.”
• Kew — from Old French queu “cook,” or from Caieu, Normandy, probably from the Common Celtic *kowyo- ‘hollow’ . Kew in Surrey developed too late to be responsible for the surname.
• Kexby — from Kexby, Yorkshire. Old Norse personal name Keikr “bent backwards” + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement.”
• Keynes — from Cahaignes or Cahagnes in Normandy, of uncertain etymology, possibly from the Latin catena “chain,” though possibly more likely from a Celtic source.
• Kirton, Kerton, Kurton — from one of the places of the name. Old Norse kirkje “church” + Old English tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Knell, Kneller – from Old English cnyll(e) “knoll” (see Knollys).
• Knighton — from one of the places of the name. Old English cniht “knight” + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Knivett, Knyvett — from Old English cniht “knight.”
• Knollys, Knowles – both pronounced “noles” rhyming with “holes”. Old English cnoll “knoll” — i.e. the summit of a small, rounded hill.
• Knowler – from Old English cnoll (see Knollys).