Keogh Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Keogh Family History

Keogh Family History

The family history of the ancient name Keogh 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 Keogh include Kehoe, Hoy and Haughey. Meaning 'son of Eochaidh', this is a personal name derived from several septs. The Irish Keoghs were divided into three distinct septs. The first sept's territory was Limerick and Ballymackeogh. The second were Lords of Moyfinn, around Athlone and Roscommon and the third were the MacKeoghs of Leinster. The former, following the Norman invasion, moved to Wexford where they are now more usually known as Kehoe. The ancient manuscript 'The Four Masters' describe Maolmuire MacKeogh as chief professor of poetry in Leinster in the year 1534 and several other fine Keogh poets are cited in the 'Literary History of Ireland'.The Keogh 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 Keogh descendants.