This interesting name is ultimately of Norman locational origin, from the place called "Caillouet - Orgeville" in the province of Eure, which is recorded in 1157 as "Cailloel". The placename means "place of stones or pebbles", from the Olde Norman French "cail(ou)", pebble, or stone, from the celtic. The English surname derives in part from those followers of William the Conqueror who introduced the name into England, and in part from the place called "Kellaways" in Wiltshire, named for the Norman family who were the local landowners. The name development has included Thomas de Kaillewey (1242, Wiltshire), Elyas de Kaylewe (1255, ibid.) and Thomas Caylewey (1275, Gloucestershire). The modern surname has a number of variants, from Kellaway, Callaway and Calway to Kelloway and Kelway. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Philip de Chailewai, which was dated 1165, in the "Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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