Keillor is a surname of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

origin. It is thought to derive from the Scottish Gaelic word "gu leòr" (modern English, “galore”) meaning "sufficient," "enough" or "plenty."

Origin and variants

Keillor is a habitational name derived from a small settlement called "Keillor" in the village of

Kettins Kettins is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland about northeast of Perth and northwest of Dundee. It is from Coupar Angus, north of the A923 road. Notable people * Robert Trail minister of the parish 1746 to 1753 *John Ker minister 1744 ...

near the town of

Coupar Angus Coupar Angus (; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Cùbar Aonghais'') is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, south of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie. The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife. The town was traditi ...

in the

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

in northeastern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Though presently in Perth and Kinross, Keillor, which lies on the border between Perth and Kinross and the council area of

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

, was originally in Angus (previously known as Forfarshire) until the area was transferred to the historic county of

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

(now Perth and Kinross) in 1891. A very old surname, the first Keillor family lived at Keillor where they had historically held a family seat. Although originally a Scottish name, it is also historically concentrated in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, most notably in the region of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

The Pictish Stone at High Keillor - geograph

Until the gradual standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Medieval Scottish names, particularly as they were anglicized from the original Gaelic, historically displayed wide variations in recorded spellings as scribes of the era spelled words according to how they sounded rather than any set of rules. This means that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Keillor surname usually have the same origin. Retrieved 26 June 2018 Aside from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, variants of the surname can be found today across the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

, particularly in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Notable people with the surname

Alex Keillor Alexander Lowson Keillor (20 October 1869 – 16 June 1960) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Montrose, Dundee and Scotland, being capped six times between 1891 and 1897. Born in Dundee, Keillor is one of only two men to be selected ...

, Scottish footballer *

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

, American humorist *

Steven Keillor Steven James Keillor (born April 25, 1948) is a Minnesota historian and author. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D in American History from the University of Minnesota; currently, he is an adjunct professor at Bethel University. He lives in A ...

, American historian *

Alexander Keiller (disambiguation) Alexander Keiller or Keillor may refer to: *Alexander Keiller (archaeologist) (1899–1955), Scottish archaeologist who worked at Avebury **Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury *Alexander Keiller (businessman) (1804–74), Scottish businessman who fo ...

John Keiller MacKay Lieutenant-colonel (Canada), Lieutenant-Colonel John Keiller MacKay (July 11, 1888 – June 12, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian soldier, lawyer and jurist. MacKay served as the List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors ...

, PC, DSO, VD, QC (1888–1970), the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1957 to 1963 *

Keiller Mackay Collegiate Institute Keiller MacKay Collegiate Institute (KMCI, Keiller MacKay) is a medium-sized public high school building located in Toronto's west end close to the intersection of Islington Avenue and Highway 401. Opened in 1971 until closing in 1983, it was ove ...

(KMCI), a medium-sized high school located in Toronto's west end *

Janet Keiller's marmalade Keiller's marmalade is named after its creator James and Janet Keiller (nee Mathewson, 1737-1813), and is believed to have been the first commercial brand of marmalade in Great Britain. It was made by James Keiller in Dundee, Scotland, later cre ...

, the first commercial brand of marmalade, produced in Dundee, Scotland *

Patrick Keiller Patrick Keiller (born 1950) is a British film-maker, writer and lecturer. Biography Keiller was born in 1950, in Blackpool and studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. In 1979 he joined the Royal College of Art ...

(born 1950), British filmmaker, writer and lecturer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keillor Scottish surnames Surnames of Scottish origin Surnames of British Isles origin

Origin and variants

Notable people with the surname

See also

References