The KELLETT Name

- English: habitational name from Nether or Over Kellet in Lancashire or Kelleth in

Cumbria, named from Old Norse kelda ‘spring’ + hlíth ‘slope’. source: Dictionary of

American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

- Surname: Kellett "This most interesting surname is of Old Scandinavian origin, and is

a locational name from either Kellet in Lancashire, which was recorded as "Chellet", in

the Domesday Book of 1086 and as "Kellet" in the Pipe Rolls of 1194; or Kelleth in

Cumberland, which appears in documents published in the "Transactions of the

Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society", circa 1200 as

"Keldelith". The placenames share the same derivation, which is from the Old Norse

"keld-hlieth", composed of "kelda", a spring and "hlieth", a slope, hillside; hence "a

slope with a spring". During the Middle Ages, when migration for the purpose of job-

seeking was becoming more common, people often took their former village name as

a means of identification, which resulted in a wide dispersal of the name. The name is

first recorded in the late 12th Century (see below), while other early recordings include

William de Kellet, mentioned in the Feet of Fines of Yorkshire in 1279, and Mariota

Kelitt, who appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1327. Sir Henry Kellett

(1806 - 1875) rose to the rank of vice-admiral in the British navy. The first recorded

spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam de Kellet, which was dated

1194, in the "Pipe Rolls of Cumberland", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as

"The Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments

introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the

centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to

astonishing variants of the original spelling." source: Name Orgin Research

- According to "The Book of Irish Families, Great & Small," Kelletts are found in Antrim,

Cavan, Down, and Dublin Counties.

- In addition, the "Families of County Dublin, Ireland" book lists Kellett as a major

surname. www.irishroots.com

KELLETT Immigration to the USA

Select the charts at the left to study the immigration of KELLETT families into the

United States, their Places of Origin and their ports of Departure.

Select the charts at the left to study the distribution of KELLETT families in the United

States during the censuses of 1840, 1880, and 1920.