Surnames, which are also known as family names or last names, provide an indication as to which family a person belongs. In Western Societies children inherit their father’s surname. There is also a patriarchal tradition for a woman to change her surname upon marriage to that of her husband.

 

Today we take surnames for granted and assume that they have always existed. In reality they have evolved from a need to identify individuals other than by the vagaries of a given name and other identifiable factors.  This is perfectly demonstrated by the legend of Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley, and his Merry Men; Little John, Much the Miller's Son, Will Scarlet, Arthur a Bland, David of Doncaster, Will Stutely, Friar Tuck, and Alan-a-Dale. These would have been actual names, and not nicknames substituting for the proper name, i.e. Buffalo Bill the American Old West hero, whose real name was William Cody.

 

The Evolution of Surnames

 

There is some uncertainty as to when surnames were first used, but it is believed their usage coincided with the development of large concentrated populations and the need to identify individuals, i.e. for taxation purposes. The Chinese, during the reign of Emperor Fu Xi in 2852 BC, are said to have introduced surnames to facilitate their population census. In England the introduction is attributed to the Norman’s Domesday Survey in 1086. During the 13th and 14th centuries, surnames were adopted by the nobility and landed classes, which then devolved down to the rest of society. By 1400 most people in England and the Lowlands of Scotland had surnames, but many Irish, Highlanders and Welsh people didn't adopt them until the 17th century, or later. The origin of British surnames can be traced to specific definable categories:

 

Occupations:	Smith, Archer, Baker, Milner, Cooper, Warner
Personal characteristics:	Short, Long, Brown, Whitehead
Geographical features:	Hill, Lee, Wood, Fields
Place names:	Hamilton, Sutton, Sheffield, Liddington
Patronymics:	Richardson, Williams, Johnson
Matronymics:	Tillotson a from a diminutive for Matilda
Clan names:	MacDonald, MacNeish, Campbell, Wallace
Religion:	Church, Chapel, Parish Bishop, Priest, Abbot.
Residential:	Castle, Croft, Barnes, House

 

The History of the Keep Surname

 

The name Keep is of early medieval English origin and has been recorded as:

 

ate Kepe:	Thomas ate Kepe 1327 Sussex
atte Kep:	William atte Kep 1290
Keepe:	Robert de Keepe 1332 Cumberland
de Keepe:	Henry Keepe 1611 Northamptonshire
Kep:	Walter Kep 1230 Buckinghamshire
Kepe:	John Kepe 1290 Buckinghamshire
Keppe:	William Keppe 1583 Bermodsey

 

That the spelling of surnames has varied over time is due to very low literacy rates and the reliance on phonetic recording, or a deliberate choice of the family.

 

Keep may be residential, describing a person who lived at a castle, as in the Keep; or possibly occupational, describing a gaoler from the Middle English word "keep," from the verb "keepen," meaning to hold or possibly defend. There is a school of thought that suggests that the name Keep comes from de Kyper. If so, the prospects present an exciting new dimension to the DNA project, especially when you consider all the potential spelling variations in respect of de Kyper.

 

From his research , Philip Keep of Norwich, England, discovered that during the 11th century, prior to the French invasion by William the Conqueror, the Keep family name was spelled as Cheppe in Old English.  See the British and Irish Keeps page for more information.

Our Surname

 

Whilst the purpose of this website and its research is to find out more about our ancestors, one cannot ignore the Keep surname. This is an important factor in the project, and is an indispensable precursor in tracing the Keep lineage.