Keating ~ Céitinn

The Story of the Keating Name

Keating is one of the fascinating Irish surnames whose story begins with the Anglo-Norman arrival in Ireland rather than with an ancient Gaelic personal name. The Irish form Céitinn developed from the Norman name de Ketyng, and the family was established in Ireland during the twelfth century. The precise meaning of the original name is uncertain.

The Keatings first became established in County Wexford, where they received substantial lands following the Anglo-Norman invasion. From Wexford, branches of the family spread into Carlow, Kildare, Tipperary, Waterford, and Cork, becoming increasingly integrated into Irish society.

Perhaps the most famous person to carry the name was Geoffrey Keating, or Seathrún Céitinn, a seventeenth-century priest, historian, and writer from County Tipperary. His Foras Feasa ar Éirinn—a sweeping history of Ireland—became one of the most influential works of Irish historical literature.

The Keatings are an excellent example of how families who arrived as part of the Anglo-Norman world could become thoroughly Irish in language, culture, and identity. Within a few centuries, the family's Gaelicized name, Céitinn, sat naturally alongside the great Gaelic surnames of Ireland.

Over time, Céitinn became Keating and Keatinge in English, while the name remained particularly associated with Wexford and Tipperary. Behind the familiar surname lies a story of migration, adaptation, and belonging—a family that arrived from across the Irish Sea but became woven deeply into the history and culture of Ireland.