Casely-Hayford is an English language

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...

surname that is native to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

. It is most commonly borne by the Casely-Hayford family, descendants of the famous 19th century

Euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

- Fante and

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

J. E. Casely-Hayford Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, (29 September 1866 – 11 August 1930), also known as Ekra-Agyeman, was a prominent Fante Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism. His 1911 n ...

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Gu ...

. The family is one of Ghana's most prominent families, and in recent times, its members have also risen to positions of influence in the

Black British elite The Black elite is any elite, either political or economic in nature, that is made up of people who identify as of Black African descent. In the Western World, it is typically distinct from other national elites, such as the United Kingdom's aris ...

. In 2008, the Casely-Hayfords were named on " The Black Powerlist" as the most influential black family in the UK.Lysanne Currie
"Margaret Casely-Hayford: The ActionAid UK chair talks talent, diversity and building a great company culture"
''The Director'', 1 October 2015.

Origin of the surname

The surname was originally simply ''Hayford''. J.E. Casely-Hayford was the first member of his family - a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, ti ...

of the

royal dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

- to use the compound name, adding one of his forenames to the original to form ''Casely-Hayford''.

Notable members of the family

The Casely-Hayfords have been prominent in the law, politics, the arts, and academia. Notable members include: *

Adelaide Casely-Hayford Adelaide Casely-Hayford, MBE (née Smith; 2 June 1868 – 24 January 1960), was a Sierra Leone Creole advocate, an activist of cultural nationalism, a teacher and fiction writer and a feminist. Committed to public service, she worked to improv ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...

née Smith (1868–1960), was a

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in t ...

advocate,

cultural nationalism Cultural nationalism is nationalism in which the nation is defined by a shared culture and a common language, rather than on the concepts of common ancestry or race. Cultural nationalism does not tend to manifest itself in independent movements, ...

activist, educator, school founder, short-story writer, and feminist *

Archie Casely-Hayford Archibald "Archie" Casely-Hayford (1898 – 20 August 1977) was a British-trained Ghanaian barrister and politician, who was involved in nationalist politics in the former Gold Coast (present-day Ghana). Having joined the Convention People's Pa ...

(1898–1977),

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

barrister and nationalist politician in the Gold Coast, municipal member for

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

and

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

and Natural Resources during the First Republic * Beattie Casely-Hayford (1922–1989), Ghanaian engineer, the first Director of the Ghana Arts Council, a co-founder of the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, and Director of the

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was established by law in 1968 with a triple mandate as a State Broadcaster, Public Service Broadcaster, and a Commercial Broadcaster in Ghana. Headquartered in the capital city, Accra, it is funded by gr ...

(GBC) * Charlie Casely-Hayford (born 1986), British fashion designer *

Joseph de Graft Hayford Joseph de Graft Hayford (1840–1919) was a Wesleyan Methodist minister who was a prominent figure in Fante politics and society in the Gold Coast. He was one of the founders of the Fante Confederation of 1867 and one of the first political det ...

(1840 – 1919), Wesleyan Methodist minister on the Gold Coast *

Ernest James Hayford Ernest James Hayford, (23 April 1858, Anomabu – 6 August 1913, London) was a physician and lawyer in the Gold Coast.Michael R. Doortmont, ''The Pen-Pictures of Modern Africans and African Celebrities by Charles Francis Hutchison: A Collective ...

(1858–1913), second African on the Gold Coast to become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and later a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

on the Gold Coast *

Gladys May Casely-Hayford Gladys May Casely-Hayford ''alias'' Aquah Laluah (11 May 1904 – October 1950) was a Gold Coast-born Sierra Leonean writer. She is credited as the first author to write in the Krio language. Early life and career Gladys was born into the Case ...

(1904–1950), Gold Coast-born

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

writer and pioneer of

Krio language Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, and it u ...

literature *

Gus Casely-Hayford Augustus Lavinus Casely-Hayford (born 1964) is a British curator, cultural historian, broadcaster and lecturer with ancestral Ghanaian roots in the Casely-Hayford family, a cadet branch of the Cape Coast royal dynasty. He is presently the Dire ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 1964), British curator and

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing ...

Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, (29 September 1866 – 11 August 1930), also known as Ekra-Agyeman, was a prominent Fante Ghanaian people, Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-Africanism, pan- ...

, (1866–1930) was a Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator and Pan-Africanist politician *

Joe Casely-Hayford Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford (24 May 1956 – 3 January 2019) was a British fashion designer. Beginning in the mid-1980s he established an international reputation as one of the UK's most respected and consistently relevant designers of men's a ...

(1956–2019), British fashion designer *

Margaret Casely-Hayford Margaret Henrietta Augusta Casely-Hayford

(born 1959), British lawyer, chair of

ActionAid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

UK * Louis Casely-Hayford (1936–2014), Ghanaian engineer and CEO of

Volta River Authority The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also the responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development ...

References

{{Reflist Casely-Hayford family Compound surnames Fante people Ghanaian families Ghanaian people of English descent Ghanaian people of Irish descent Literary families Methodist families Political families

Origin of the surname

Notable members of the family

See also

References