Kiely Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Kiely Family History

Kiely Family History

The family history of the ancient name Kiely 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 Kiely include Queally, Kealy, Keeley, Keily and Kelly. This Gaelic Sept were called O'Cadhla, which is derived from a word meaning 'graceful'. Many Kiely descendants may ultimately originate from the Gaelic King Ceallach from whom the famous Kelly septs are derived. They had many different septs, some of which were O'Kelly of Ui Maine, O'Kelly of Breagh, O'Kelly of Ulster and many others that came from the midlands. O'Kelly of Ui Maine was the most outstanding of all these, and there are authentic pedigrees of their Chiefs from the earliest of times to the present day. In 1351 the O'Kelly Chief invited all the musicians and poets to spend Christmas with him, a gesture which originated the expression 'O'Kelly's Welcome'. Grace of Monaco was a Kelly from America where there are now more Kellys and Kielys than in Ireland. The name Kiely itself is now often used as a variant of Keeley and can be found mostly in Counties Waterford and Limerick.The Kiely 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 Kiely descendants.