Show ContentsStain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Stain

What does the name Stain mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Stain comes from when the family resided in the parish of Staines in the counties of Middlesex and Surrey. The latter appears in the Domesday Book 1 as "Stanes" derived from the Old English word "stan" and meant "place at the stones". 2

One of the first records of the name was Sir William Staine who married into the Yarboroughs of Heslington Hall about the year 1100.

Early Origins of the Stain family

The surname Stain was first found in Middlesex at Staines, a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Spelthorne. 3 4 5 6

Staines-upon-Thames, commonly referred to simply as Staines, is a town on the River Thames in the borough of Spelthorne in Surrey (in the historic county of Middlesex.)

Early records also revealed Richard of Staines (or Richard de Stanes) (d. 1277), a English clerical judge who acted as an Itinerant Justice, then was appointed justice of the Court of King's Bench in 1209 and finally Lord Chief Justice in 1269.

Later Yorkshire was a place of note to the family. They may have given their name to a number of places in Yorkshire including several Staintons, Stainland, Stainforth or Stainburn.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include: Richard de Stanes in Kent 4 and later William de Staines, Kent, Henry III- Edward I (during the reign from Henry III-Edward I) 7

Over in Norfolk, William de Stanes, was rector of Welborne, Norfolk in 1328. 8

Early History of the Stain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stain research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1640, 1665, 1725, 1776, 1789, 1792, 1795, 1796, 1798, 1799, 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805 and 1830 are included under the topic Early Stain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stain Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Stain include Stain, Staine, Staines, Stane, Stanes, Stayn and others.

Early Notables of the Stain family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Sir Thomas Staines of Thanet; and Peter Stent (c. 1613-1665), from the early 1640s until his death, he was one of the largest printsellers in London. He died in the Great Plague of London and his busi...
  • Sir Thomas Staines (1776-1830), Captain in the Navy, was born near Margate in 1776, and entered the navy in December 1789 on board the Solebay, in which he served on the West India station till May 17...


Stain migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Stain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Sebestian Stain, aged 25, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1741 9
  • Leonard Stain, aged 28, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 9
  • Sebastian Stain, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1755 9
  • Mr. Stain, who arrived in Boston in 1766
  • Johann Friedrich Stain, who arrived in America in 1782 9
Stain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Sarah Stain, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 9
  • Ann Stain, aged 35, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 9
  • Elizabeth Stain, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1851 9
  • Isaac Stain, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1851 9
  • Jane Stain, aged 15, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1851 9

Stain migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Stain Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Hextell Stain, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
  • Mr. John Stain, British Convict who was convicted in Derby, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11

Stain migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Stain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Stain, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston, UK aboard the ship "Brazil Packet" arriving in New Zealand in 1836 12

Stain migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 13
Stain Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Richard Stain, who settled in Jamaica in 1731


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  7. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  8. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  9. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840
  12. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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