Gately Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Gately Family History

Gately Family History

The family history of the ancient name Gately was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Gately include Gatly, Keatley, Keitley, Keightley. These names are derived from the Gaelic MacAthlaoich sept and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This sept came from County Roscommon. A sept or clan was a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. Most recorded references to this surname are from the town of Athlone in County Westmeath. In the Census of 1659 the name is recorded as O'Gattely, this being one of the principal Irish names in the barony of Athlone. Where the name is spelt Keightley there are plenty of references to it, owing to the prominence of the family of Lord Justice Thomas Keightley, (1650-1719). The Gately family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Gately descendants.