Contents [hide]

Blain History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Blain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
Ireland
England

Etymology of Blain

What does the name Blain mean?

Blain comes from Scottish naming traditions. The ancestors of the surname lived among the Boernicians of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The name is derived from the Gaelic personal name Bleen, which means yellow.

Saint Blane (Blaan) was "one of the earliest bishops of Kingarth in Bute, is commemorated in the Martyrology of Oengus at August 10: 'With a host, sound, of noble birth, well-coloured, fair Blaan of Kingarth.' His name is from bid, that is yellow, from blavos. He is probably also the saint commemorated in the Calendar of Gorman as Blaan buadach Breton, 'triumphant Blaan of the Britons.' He gave name to Kilblane in Southend, Kintyre, and to Dunblane. According to a Bute legend he was mysteriously begotten of a water-sprite." 1

Early Origins of the Blain family

The surname Blain was first found in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire where the name is a "reduced form of MacBlain." 1

One of the first records of the family was that of "Blahan, presbyter of Litun probably Linton in Roxburghshire witnessed a quitclaim by Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews, 1127." 1

"Patrick Blane was provost of the burgh of Wigtown in 1561, and John Blain had a charter of the half of the ten-mark lands of Meikle-Wig in the parish of Whithorn in 1674. Agnes Blain [was] in the parish of Kirkcudbright, 1684." 1

Across the border in Yorkshire, England Andrew Blayne, Bleyn was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1219 and Nicholas Bleyne Was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls for Suffolk in 1275. Hamo de Blein was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1219. Later John Blayne was found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1507.

Down here, it is thought that the name was derived from the Old Welsh Bledgint, Middle English Blethyn. 2

While the aforementioned early origins are the traditional understandings of the origin of the family, one source claims the name to be "from the town of Blain, in Bretagne, France. Blaen, in the Welsh, signifies the summit or top; the same as pen, brig, and bar, the highest part of a mountain; the end or top of an object; the inland extremity of a glen; a leader or chief." 3

Early History of the Blain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blain research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1561, 1660, 1674, 1749, 1750, 1771, 1778, 1780, 1793, 1795, 1834, 1835 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Blain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blain Spelling Variations

Before the first dictionaries and printing presses went into use in the last few hundred years, spelling, particularly of names, was a largely intuitive matter. Consequently, many spelling variations occur in even the simplest names from the Middle Ages. Blain has been spelled Blain, Blane, Blaine, Blaines, Blahan and others.

Early Notables of the Blain family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir Gilbert Blane (1749-1834), Scottish physician, the fourth son of Mr. Gilbert Blane of Blanefield, Ayrshire, where he was born on 29 Aug. 1749. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the University of Edinburgh, being at first intended for the church, but was ultimately led to study medicine. After spending five years in the faculty of arts, and five more in that of medicine at Edinburgh, he took the degree of M.D. in the university of Glasgow on 28 Aug. 1778. During his studentship he was elected one of the...
Another 155 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blain World Ranking

In the United States, the name Blain is the 6,241^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Blain is ranked the 623^rd most popular surname. 5 And in France, the name Blain is the 1,373^rd popular surname with an estimated 4,157 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Blain family to Ireland

Some of the Blain family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blain migration to the United States +

The east coasts of the United States and Canada are still populated by many of the descendents of the Boernician-Scottish families who made that great crossing. They distributed themselves evenly when they first arrived, but at the time of the War of Independence those who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. This century, many of their ancestors have recovered their past heritage through highland games and other Scottish functions in North America. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that many immigrants bearing the name Blain or a variant listed above:

Blain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Eliza Blain who settled in New York in 1774
Leonard Blain, who arrived in America in 1795 7

Blain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Blain, who settled in Philadelphia in 1805
Robert Blain, aged 29, who arrived in Tennessee in 1812 7
Thomas Blain, aged 31, who arrived in New York in 1812 7
Andrew Blain, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1813 7
John Blain, who settled in New Orleans in 1820
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Blain migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Louis Blain, son of François and Jeanne, who married Marguerite Lumineau, daughter of Jean and Marie, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 15th April 1709 8
Louis Blain, son of Louis and Marguerite, who married Marie-Josephte Petit, daughter of Nicolas and Marie-Michelle, in Boucherville, Quebec on 25th October 1745 8

Blain Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Blain, who landed in Canada in 1820

Blain 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:

Blain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Blain, aged 48, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Eveline" in 1865 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Blain (post 1700) +

William W. Blain, American Republican politician, Member of Missouri State Senate 15th District, 1945-48 10
William W. Blain, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Missouri 7th District, 1912 10
Tony Blain, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1988 10
T. P. Blain, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 36th District, 1905-06 10
Samuel Blain, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Seneca County, 1830 10
Roger A. Blain, American politician, Representative from California 14th District, 1974 10
Richard K. Blain, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Ohio 7th District, 1996 10
Ralph P. Blain, American Republican politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Canaan, 1938 10
Jay Blain, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Utah, 1996 10
Bethune D. Blain, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Circuit Judge in Michigan 3rd Circuit, 1935 10
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Blain Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Paritur pax bello
Motto Translation: Peace is obtained by war.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html