The Starkey name is derived from the Medieval English "Stark" which itself comes from the Olde English pre 7th Century "stearc" meaning "firm and unyielding". The name was originally given as a nickname to a strong determined person and is first recorded in the early half of the 13th Century. Common variations of the name include Starkey, Starkie, Starky, Starckey, Starckie.

Current research identifies the earliest known ancestor of our Starkey line as being William Starkey of Kegworth. Williams 5 x great grand-daughter Sarah Starkey Mansfield married Thomas Fullelove and they migrated to Australia in 1863.

The Starkey ancestry goes back 14 generations and biographies exist for some members as indicated by links

• William Starkey ? - 1692 married Martha
  
  • William Starkey 1642 - 1697 married Ellin Asty
    
    • Robert Starkey 1676 - 1741 married Anne Botterill
      
      • Robert Starkey 1717 - 1791 married Anne Clarke
        
        • Robert Starkey 1748 - 1807 married Elizabeth Osbourne
          
          • William Starkey 1780 - 1827 married Sarah Marriott
            
            • Ann Starkey 1809 - married William Mansfield
              
              • Sarah Starkey Mansfield 1827 - 1898 married Thomas Fullelove 
                • Sarah Ann Starkey Fullelove 1844 - 1935 married George William Bashford
                  • Mary Emma Bashford 1871 - married James Cairns Bain
                    • James Bashford Bain 1893 - 1971 married Eva Mary Yates
                      • Doreen Bain 1921 - 2000 married Douglas James Hardie
                        • My father