Keys

Keys
Recorded in several spellings as shown below, this surname is English. It has a number of verifiable origins, any one of which could be the source of the modern surname. Firstly it was an occupational name for a maker of keys or for someone holding the ceremonial office of key-bearer, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "caeg", key. Secondly it could be topographical and describe someone living or working on a wharf. This is from the Middle English word "kaye", meaning a quay. Thirdly it could have a completely different source, and be Celtic from the ancient personal name Cai or Key, thought to be from the Roman names Gaius or Caius. Fourthly it could be from two medieval English nicknames. The first from the northern dialectal word "kay", meaning a jackdaw and the second one from the Danish-Viking word "kei", meaning left, and hence describing a left-handed person. The final origin is Norman-French, and locational from the place called Guise in Picardy. There are many spellings of the surname including Key, Keys, Keyes, Kayse, Keays, Keeys, Kayson, Keyson and Keson. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Keys. This was dated 1275, in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire, during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Keys — ist der Name folgender Personen: Alicia Keys (* 1981), US amerikanische Soulsängerin Bobby Keys (* 1943), US amerikanischer Saxophonist Martha Keys (* 1930), US amerikanische Politikerin Keys bezeichnet außerdem: Keys (Oklahoma), einen Ort in den …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Keys — Keys, OK U.S. Census Designated Place in Oklahoma Population (2000): 458 Housing Units (2000): 194 Land area (2000): 5.495167 sq. miles (14.232417 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.495167 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Keys, OK — U.S. Census Designated Place in Oklahoma Population (2000): 458 Housing Units (2000): 194 Land area (2000): 5.495167 sq. miles (14.232417 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.495167 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • KEYS — Infobox Radio station name = KEYS city = Corpus Christi, Texas area = Corpus Christi metropolitan area branding = KEYS 1440 slogan = airdate = Unknown at this time frequency = 1440 kHz format = News/Talk power = 1,000 Watts class = B facility id …   Wikipedia

  • Keys — Key Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Key, clef en anglais, peut faire référence à : Key, une société publiant des Eroge, Keys peut faire référence à : Les Keys, un archipel en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • keys — Synonyms and related words: choir, claviature, console, crook, crosier, echo, eighty eight, fingerboard, great, ivories, keyboard, manual, miter, organ manual, pallium, pastoral staff, pedals, piano keys, red hat, ring, solo, swell, tiara, triple …   Moby Thesaurus

  • keys — I Scottish Vernacular Dictionary noun: a call for truce, pax, used by children in games. Must be accompanied by hands loosely clenched with both thumbs pointing up. Example: At s no ferr! Ye canny tig me, cause ah hud ma keys oot! II Glesga… …   English dialects glossary

  • Keys — /kiz/ (say keez) noun House of See House of Keys …  

  • keys —    According to a character in Thomas Hardy s novel Far From the Madding Crowd (1874, chapter 33), breaking a key was a bad sign: I went to unlock the door and dropped the key, and it fell upon the stone floor and broke into two pieces. Breaking… …   A Dictionary of English folklore

  • keys — The house of keys,–the lower house of the Manx legislature. See key …   Ballentine's law dictionary

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