Meaning & History
Key 2 is an Irish surname that is an Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh." The name Aodh in turn derives from Old Irish Áed, meaning "fire." This masculine given name was hugely popular in early Ireland, borne by numerous figures in Irish mythology and several high kings, and was traditionally Anglicized as Hugh. Thus, Key 2 ultimately shares a root with many other Irish surnames like Magee, McGee, Keys 2, and Keyes 2, all from the same underlying Mac Aodha source.
Etymology
The chain of derivation begins with the personal name Aodh, which is widespread in Irish history and legend. The patronymic surname Mac Aodha arose to denote a descendant or follower of Aodh. When Irish names were anglicized, variants arose over time due to regional pronunciation and changing orthography?—?thus Key, along with forms like Kea, Kaye, and McAye, appeared. In some cases, the letter 'y' was inserted for phonetic clarity, but modern bearers typically retain the simpler spelling.
Notable Bearers
While no comprehensive list of famous individuals with the surname Key 2 exists, examples of historical bearers with similar forms include the Anglo-Irish Key family of County Meath and Ireland. As ongoing Anglicization becomes older and due to lack of highly prominent namesakes, currently this is considered a less well-known variant compared to bearing Hughes (and Haysen) of equivalent British backgrounds.
Distribution
The surname Key is most common in the British Isles.