KEDDIE
Keddie is a surname of strictly Scottish provenance, its earliest attestations dating from the late fourteenth century. The name is a patronymic in origin, traditionally derived from the Gaelic personal name Mac Eide, meaning “son of Eide”. The element Eide itself is believed, by linguistic scholarship, to be rooted in the Old Norse name Eiðr, which translates as “oath” or “pledge”. Consequently, the surname Keddie may be understood as “descendant of the oath‑bearer”.
Over the centuries the spelling of Keddie has undergone a recognised evolution. It has been recorded in variants such as MacEddie, MacKeddie, Kedie, Keddy, Kiddey and Kiddy. These orthographic changes reflect both regional pronunciation differences and the transcription practices of antiquarian record keepers.
Historical documentation provides several notable early instances of the surname. The first recorded spelling is that of John Kede, dated 1388 in the Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, during the reign of King Robert the Eleventh. Smith et al. record a further early mention in the year 1577 of John Kady in Dysart. The name also appears in the parish records of Edinburgh on 25 April 1616, where Thomas son of George and Agnes Kaidie was christened, and in the 1595‑1722 Commissionery Record of Lanark, where the name is noted for Margaret Keddie in 1623. In 1664, Alexander Ceddy was fined for “straicks and ryot”, and in 1670 Donald Kedde of Moy, Caithness, was apprehended as a rebel.
The question of the place‑name origin of Keddie is also addressed in the literature. One hypothesis suggests a derivation from the Scottish place name Keddie located in the county of Fife, an area historically associated with the ancient Pictish tribes. In this view, the name may have originally denoted “wood‑dweller” or “one who lives by the wood,” thereby serving as a locational identifier for a family residing in a forested region. Other scholars note the possibility of a direct link to the medieval Gaelic name Mac Adaidh (i.e., “son of Adam”), itself derived from the personal name Adam. This hypothesis is bolstered by the presence of a small village bearing the name Keddie within the Grampian mountains, which could have influenced the patronymic development.
In practical terms, the surname Keddie remains a rare and recognisable marker of Scottish heritage. Its distribution today is largely confined to the United Kingdom, especially within Scotland, but it has also been carried overseas by emigrants to the United States, Canada, and Australia. In each of these countries the name is still comparatively uncommon, yet its association with Scottish lineage endures in genealogical and historical records.
Typical given names associated with the Keddie surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- David
- Graham
- James
- John
- Jonathan
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Robert
- Tyler
- William
Female
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Jacqueline
- Jean
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sheila
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Keddie in...
Braille
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Morse
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Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Keddie are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Hobnob.
There are approximately 1,365 people named Keddie in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,780th most common surname in Britain. Around 21 in a million people in Britain are named Keddie.
Famous people named Keddie
- Gordon Keddie -
- Harrison Keddie - Welsh rugby union player
- Alex Keddie - Scottish football player
- Jimmy Keddie - (1918 to 2000)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.