Find out how popular the last name Keily is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Keily.

Keily, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Keily surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Keily in America

Keily is the 115034th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Keily surname appeared 152 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Keily.

We can also compare 2010 data for Keily to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Keily

The surname Keily originated from the medieval Gaelic O'Cadhla sept in Ireland. It is derived from the old Irish words 'cadha' meaning chaste or pure, and 'ile' meaning region or territory. The name was initially found in County Cork and Tipperary.

In ancient Irish records, the name appeared as O'Cadhla, O'Keely, and O'Keily. One of the earliest recorded references is from the Irish Annals of Innisfallen in 1171, which mentions the death of Maelmuire O'Cadhla, a notable figure from County Cork.

The surname Keily can trace its roots back to the 12th century. The Pipe Roll of Cloyne from 1364 lists several bearers including William O'Keely and John O'Keely, both from the town of Cloyne in County Cork.

In the 16th century, the name was anglicized to Keily and Keely during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. A notable bearer from this period was Edmund Keily, born in 1534 in Tipperary, who served as a judge and was involved in the Battle of Kinsale in 1601.

Other historical figures include Patrick Keily, born in 1681 in Cork, who was a renowned Catholic priest and author. In the 18th century, Denis Keily, born in 1717 in Tipperary, was a respected mathematician and surveyor.

Moving into the 19th century, John Keily, born in 1805 in Cork, was a prominent Irish nationalist and member of the Young Ireland movement. Another notable bearer was the artist and writer Mary Keily, born in 1859 in County Kerry, who illustrated books on Irish folklore.

Throughout its history, the surname Keily maintained strong ties to its Irish roots and Gaelic heritage. While variations in spelling occurred, the name's origins can be traced back to the ancient Gaelic septs of medieval Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Keily

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Keily.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Keily was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Keily has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Keily was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Keily, please contact us.

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