Cuchey

Recorded in London in several spellings including Cutchee, Cutchey, Cutchie, and possibly in its earliest form Kechy or Kechey, this is may be an English surname but equally possibly it could have Gaelic origins. The surname recordings when found at all, are erratic in spelling, and usually with large gaps between the entries. When this occurs it is either because the original nameholders at a particular place died out and were possibly replaced (or not), at a later date by another influx of the same name, or more likely for whatever reason the spelling has been changed to such an extent as to put it into another area of the directories, and has not been recognized. If we take the Gaelic first, the word 'cu' in both Ireland and Scotland means 'the hound', and is found in such Scottish names as Cutcheon, part of the Clan MacDonald, or Cusithie, the former Clan Consithe, which means 'the hound of peace'. In English the prefix word is usually 'cut' as in the surnames Cutbill, a form of the Olde English 'Cobbald', or Cutress, a much developed form of the pre 7th century 'Cedric', and two good examples of how far 'names' can be corrupted over the centuries. The suffix 'ey' or 'ie' may mean 'the island' as 'Ced(ric's) island' or it may mean 'son of Cedric'. We have to say that the origins remain unproven. The surname in any sort of recording patern has been found mainly in London, where there appear to be a number of associated recordings. These are in the church registers dating back to 1535, and include Raffe Kechy, christened at St Margarets, Westminster, in January 1561, the actual date is not given, Edward Cutchee, who married Mary Stearns at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on July 24th 1712, and Richard Cutchey, also recorded as Catchey, a witness at the same church of St Dunstans, but over a century later, on July 18th 1820.