They could be Kentia palms ( Howea Forsteriana ). They are common indoor palms for hotels/resorts/restaurants. Here are some pictures for you to compare them to:

This one is a mature specimen in San Francisco, CA

The small palm in the lower left hand side is a young palm in my yard.

And here's a closer look at that young palm in my yard in Fresno, CA

sorry, i don't know why the thumbnails aren't working. Here are some full sized photos:

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A photo would help, as your description could match several species.

Could possibly be Christmas palm:

They are gorgous!!!!!! I love these palms. I have 6 and they take forever to grow..I mean forever. I have 3 that are only 1 foot tall, and a year and a 1/2 later, still one foot tall, and no new leaves. But!! I do see a new frod, and have been waiting for 4 months for one to open..Man. In fact,
There is one at the Cheese Cake Factory at the mall, it had 5 full leaves on it 4 years ago. It has only added one to it since..What the heck. I love them, but is there a way to get them to grow a little faster? You are so fortunate to be able to grow them outside..I envy you. I live in Mass, way up near the north pole!!LOL

richard852, while I ahve not seen the palm, most of them I have seen in malls in the Houston/Galveston area are King Palms.

MeyerMike,

Its probably a good thing that it does grow slow. That way you can enjoy it longer. If a palm grows too quickly then you may not have a place to bring it in during the winter. My ceilings are only 8 foot and when my tropicals get too big I'm going to have to part with them :-(