The bain Surname
bain Name Meaning and History
- Scottish: nickname for a fair-haired person, from Gaelic bàn ‘white’, ‘fair’. This is a common name in the Highlands, first recorded in Perth in 1324. It is also found as a reduced form of McBain.
- Northern English: nickname meaning ‘bone’, probably bestowed on an exceptionally tall, lean man, from Old English ban ‘bone’. In northern Middle English -a- was preserved, whereas in southern dialects (which later became standard), it was changed to -o-.
- Northern English: nickname for a hospitable person, from northern Middle English beyn, bayn ‘welcoming’, ‘friendly’ (Old Norse beinn ‘straight’, ‘direct’).
- English and French: metonymic occupational name for an attendant at a public bath house, from Middle English, Old French baine ‘bath’.
- French: topographic name for someone who lived by a Roman bath, from Old French baine ‘bath’ or a habitational name from a place in Ille-et-Vilaine, named with this word.
- Possibly an altered spelling of North German Behn.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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Bain message board
Threads: 556 - Messages: 1505
| Thread | Author | Replies |
| David Charles Bain and Jessie Chateauneuf, Bay City Michigan |
 tenega
| 0 |
| Daniel Bain Descendants in Alabama and Texas |
KDonahue4532
| 5 |
| Griffin BAIN in TX | Mary BAIN Wendland | 1 |
| Patrick Bain Co. Clare/Leitrim, Ireland |
andreabain85
| 1 |
| Britton Bain | Richard Bain Hix | 7 |
| Leo Bain of Port Arthur, TX 1928 |
drbrownlee
| 0 |
| Bain/Ramsay Family |
shellyma1
| 0 |
| BAIN Martha P 1888-1974 |
t42RoseHill
| 0 |
| Robert Victor Bain |
patkey53
| 3 |
| James E. Bane |
Magyart
| 1 |
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