O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe and Keeffe, are the anglicised versions of the Irish Ó Caoimh, from caomh, meaning "kind" or "gentle".
The original Caomh from whom the family descend, lived in the early eleventh century, and was descended of Art, King of Munster from 742 to 762. See the main article, Eóganachta, for more discussion, as well as Eóganacht Glendamnach, the specific sept of the O'Keeffes.
For all of their history the family has been strongly associated with County Cork. Originally the territory of the family lay along the banks of the Blackwater river, near modern Fermoy, and were active in the wars of the twelfth century between the O'Connors and the Eoghanacht dynasties of Munster.
However, the arrival of the Normans displaced them, like so many others, and they moved west into the barony of Duhallow, where their territory became known, and is still known, as Pobal O'Keeffe, where the senior branch of the family had their seat at Dromagh in Dromtarriff Parish.
The last chiefs of this branch were Domhnall O'Keeffe of Dromagh (d. c. 1655), who was prominent in the Catholic Rebellion of the 1640s, and his son Captain Daniel O’Keeffe, who was killed fighting for King James at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. The family estates were confiscated in 1703, and sold to the Hollow Blades Company.
Even today, Pobal O'Keeffe is still the area in which the name is most common, with surrounding areas of County Cork also including many of the name. It remains relatively rare outside that county. In 1890, more than two thirds of the births under the name are recorded in County Cork.
Like many of the dispossessed Irish nobility, the O’Keeffes were active in the service of the Catholic monarchs of Europe. In 1740 Constantine O'Keeffe (born c. 1670) was admitted to the French aristocracy on the basis of his Irish pedigree, and his long service. The bearers of the surname "Cuif", found in the Champagne district of northern France, are descendants of O'Keeffe soldiers.
The original spelling is with 2 ff's (O'Keeffe), and church officials recorded names as they were wrongly spelled, then often resulting in the name of a single person being recorded under several spelling variations, such as O'Keefe, Keefe, Keeffe, Keiffe, and others
People
Andrew O'Keefe, Australian TV personality
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand artist and art teacher
Batt O'Keeffe, Irish politician
Ciarán O'Keeffe, British parapsychologist
Daniel O'Keefe (b. 1950), author and professor at Northwestern University
David O'Keeffe, jurist
Derrick O'Keefe, Canadian writer, teacher and political activist
Eoin O'Keeffe, Irish composer based in the UK
Eugene O'Keefe, 1862 founder of the O'Keefe Brewery in Toronto
Frank O'Keefe (1912-1989), Australian politician
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), prominent American artist/painter
James O'Keeffe (1912-1986), Irish Fine Gael politician
Jim O'Keeffe, Irish politician
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (b. 1978), American actress and model
John O'Keefe, cognitive neuroscientist
John O'Keeffe (Irish writer), an Irish playwright
John O'Keeffe, Irish footballer
John O'Keeffe, Irish Radio and Club DJ, also known as "Johnny Murda"
John A. O'Keefe, American planetary scientist
Johnny O'Keefe, Australian musician
Jonathan O'Keeffe, birth name of Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Joseph "Specs" O'Keefe, one of the participants in the Great Brinks Robbery
Kerry O'Keeffe, Australian cricketer and sports commentator
Lauren O'Keefe, American singer and member of girl group Jada
Michael O'Keefe, American actor
Michael A. O'Keefe, Australian-American physicist
Miles O'Keeffe, American actor
Ned O'Keeffe, Irish politician
Padraig O'Keeffe (1887-1963), Irish traditional musician
Richard O'Keefe, computer scientist
Ruth O'Keeffe, British government councillor
Sean O'Keefe, Chancellor of Louisiana State University, former Administrator of NASA and former United States Secretary of the Navy
Sean O'Keeffe, DJ and musician, founding member of 2 Bad Mice, also records under his solo alias Deep Blue
Timothy O'Keeffe, Irish editor and publisher
Brothers Joel O'Keeffe and Ryan O'Keeffe, members of Australian hard rock band Airbourne
Translation
The word "O'Keeffe" occurs as such in the following languages: English, French.
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