Keighley

Keighley can be a variant of two different names. Kay-Lee, or Kee-Lee.
It depends on the phonetics and history of the particular region.

---

Keighley (pronounced Kay-Lee) is a variant of the Gaelic name Cèilidh.

---

Cèilidh dates back to Ireland and Scotland.
It was a traditional gathering that involved folk music and dancing.

---

"On long, dark winter nights it is still the custom in small villages for friends to collect in a house and hold what they call a “ceilidh” (pronounced kay’lee). Young and old are entertained by the reciters of old poems and legendary stories which deal with ancient beliefs, the doings of traditional heroes and heroines, and so on. Some sing old and new songs set to old music or new music composed in the manner of the old.

---

—Mackenzie, Donald A., Wonder tales from Scottish myth and legend, 1917, p. 14"

---

"Dancing at Cèilidhs is usually in the form of Cèilidh dances, set dances or couple dances. A "Set" consists of four to eight couples, with each pair of couples facing another in a square or rectangular formation. Each couple exchanges position with the facing couple, and also facing couples exchange partners, while all the time keeping in step with the beat of the music."

---

For a modern example, you can watch the movie "Leap Year" with Amy Adams and Mathew Goode. In one scene they are at an Irish wedding. At the reception of this wedding the brides maids and groomsmen dance in this fashion.

---

There is also a song by Marillion called "Kayleigh"

---

On a personal note, my name is Keighley. I come from Irish, Scottish, and Welsh heritage. I am an adult. My father named me. People can never pronounce it correctly, but it has become something of a joke over the years. I get compliments far more than criticisms. I never get tired of telling people that my name means to dance and party!
The thing about Keighley, is that it is memorable and different. Just like me.
;)

Keighley (pronounced KEE-lee) is a habitational name from a place so named in West Yorkshire, recorded in Domesday Book as _Chichelai_, apparently named with an Old English personal name _Cyhha_ + Old English _leah_ ‘woodland clearing’. [noted -ed]