Cayley Name Study

Surnames/tags: Cayley Cailly

Contents 1 Current Status of the One-Name Study 2 Goals 3 Associated Free-Space Pages 4 Origin of the Name 5 Surname Variants 6 Geographical Distribution 7 Prominent Cayleys 8 Resources 9 Task List

Current Status of the One-Name Study

This one-name study was started by Michael Cayley. Please note that Michael is no longer actively pursuing the one-name study, although he is continuing to add Cayley-related information to WikiTree.

If anyone wants to take over leadership of the study, please contact Michael.

Goals

This is a One Name Study to collect together in one place everything about one surname and the variants of that name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join our study to help make it a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect. There is extensive information available on families definitely linked to the Cayley baronets of Yorkshire. It is not clear whether there are other Cayley lines that share common ancestors with the Cayley baronets.

Associated Free-Space Pages

• Notes on the Medieval Cailly Family: for general notes on the medieval Cailly family, which help to give general background and a general overview in a way that may not emerge clearly from just looking at individual profiles.
• Unconnected Probable Cailly Family Members: for information from medieval records refering to people with the name Cailly who are almost certainly connected to Cailly family members for whom there are profiles, although it has not been established how they fit in. If any Wikitree members are able to find sources to help make the connections, that would be wonderful!

Origin of the Name

The ancestors of the Cayley baronets came around the time of the Norman conquest from a village near Rouen in Normandy called Cailly. Before the 14th century, common forms of the surname were de Cailly and de Kailly, though there were a number of other variants.

Census and immigration information suggests that some other Cayley lines in England and in other countries varied the spelling of their surname between Cayley and Caley, and that a few families were descended from Irish immigrants originally called Kelly or Cawley.

Surname Variants

This study includes the variant surname spelling Cailly, which is the main form of the name found in earlier medieval times.

As with many surnames, in records and sources dating back to the 18th century and earlier the surname is found spelt in many different ways, and some individuals have their last name spelt differently in different records. Among the variants are

• Cayly
• Caley
• Cailey
• Caily
• Caly
• Cayle
• Caylie
• Kayley
• Kayly
• Kaily
• Kaley
• Keyley

The earlier medieval form of the surname, often in the form Cailly, also has many further different spellings in surviving records, including

• Kailly
• Cailli
• Kailli
• Caily
• Kaily
• Caili
• Caylly
• Cayllye
• Caylli
• Kaylli

and even, in one group of records, Kellaway or Kellaways.

Geographical Distribution

The Cayley baronets have been particularly associated with a village called Brompton-by-Sawdon, inland from Scarborough in Yorkshire, England. Today descendants of their family can be found in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and the USA.

Other Cayleys can be found in the main English-speaking countries around the world.

Prominent Cayleys

• Sir George Cayley, 1773-1847, an inventor and a pioneer of aeronautics
• Arthur Cayley, 1821-1895, a leading 19th-century mathematician

Resources

cayleyfamilyhistory.wordpress.com

Task List

• To investigate whether there are other Cayley lines which share ancestors with the family of the Cayley baronets of Yorkshire.
• To extend other Cayley lines back in time.
• To improve Cayley-related profiles