Kaleigh Family History

English: habitational name from Raleigh (House) in Pilton (Devon), recorded as Radeleia in 1086 and Rawlegh in 1535. The placename probably derives from Old English rǣge ‘roe deer’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.

Irish: variant of Riley .

History: The English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) was born in Hayes Barton, Devon, into a family of Devon gentry. He was related to most of the West Country's important families, including that of Sir Francis Drake. His half-brother was the explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert. In 1578 Raleigh was granted a patent to explore and colonize “unknown lands” in America. In the 1580s he was granted extensive estates in Munster (Ireland), in reward for his suppression of the Desmond Rebellions.