Origin of the Name Keogh
The
Keogh family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
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 coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Keogh descendants.