Recorded in many spellings including Kellock, Kellough, Kelloch, Killock and the Irish form of Killough widely recorded in Ulster, it is a name of several possible origins. Arguably in all cases it is Scottish, but it may either be of locational origin from a place in Braemar, Aberdeenshire called Keiloch, or from the lands of Killoch in Ayrshire, or it may as with the surname Kellog, derive from the Olde English pre 7th century words 'kyll hogge', and as such describe a hunter of wild hogs. If the former origin the derivation is from the Gaelic 'coilleog' meaning a grave or wood, and therefore a person who lived by such a place. However spelt and whatever the origin, the surname is first recorded towards the middle of the 14th century (see below), and early examples of these recordings taken from authentic rolls and charters of the period include: Anna de Keloche in the Scottish city of Stirling in1372, and David Kellocht, recorded as being a deed witness at Fife, in 1495. The spelling as Kellock first appears in the 'Inventory of Pitfirrane writs' in 1567, where a transaction granting six bolls of oats to Giles Kellock is recorded. This inventory also gives Alexander Kellock, as being a burgess of Dunfermline in 1581. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Robert de Kellok who apparently received 'money' from the Lord Chamberlain of Scotland in 1343. This is shown in the 'Exchequer Rolls' for Scotland. during the reign of David II of Scotland 1329-1371. 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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