Keller Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Keller Family History

Keller Family History

The family history of the ancient name Keller was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The names Keller, Kelleher and Kelliher are all derived from the Gaelic O'Ceileachair sept who were of Dalcassian origin.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

This Gaelic name is taken from words that translate as 'companion dear'. The leader of the sept was a nephew of the famous Brian Boru. They were originally located in County Clare in the fourteenth century but later migrated to Counties Kerry and Cork. In the 1921 census there were 165 families of Kelleher in County Cork with Keller being less often used. Keller can also be of German origin. The Keller 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 Keller descendants.