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Show ContentsBlacklock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • Scotland Scotland
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The saga of the name Blacklock begins with a Strathclyde-Briton family in the ancient Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for a person with dark hair. As such, the Blacklock surname most likely evolved from a nickname from the Middle English "blakelok," in turn from the Old English blec, meaning "black," or "dark," and locc, meaning a "lock of hair." 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Black Loch, location names in Lanark, Renfrew and Stirling. 2

Early Origins of the Blacklock family

The surname Blacklock was first found in Wiltshire where Peter Blacloke was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3

Dusting off more old references, we found Adam Blakelok in the Subsidy Rolls for Cumberland in 1332 and Robert Blaykelok in Yorkshire in 1431. 4

About fifty years later in Scotland, "William Blakloche, chaplain in the monastery of Dunfermlyne, appears as charter witness in 1483. " 5 The same source notes two of the same name but with very different stories: "Adam Blaiklok of the West Port of Edinburgh was hanged for perjury in 1615, and another Adam Blaiklok was constable of the parish of Kirkpatrick-Tuxta, 1617." 5

Early History of the Blacklock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blacklock research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1332, 1400, 1597, 1598, 1637, 1638, 1684, 1721, 1791 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Blacklock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blacklock Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Blacklock has been spelled Blacklock, Blakelock, Blacklocke, Blakelocke, Blaikelock, Blaiklock and many more.

Early Notables of the Blacklock family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791), Scottish scholar, a friend and confidant of Robert Burns, and a poet in his own right...

United States Blacklock migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Blacklock Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Tho Blacklock, who arrived in Virginia in 1656 6
Blacklock Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Martha Blacklock, who settled in Maryland in 1722
  • William Blacklock, aged 23, who landed in Charlatan, South Carolina in 1774 6
Blacklock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Lawrence Blacklock, aged 33, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1849 6

Australia Blacklock migration to Australia +

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

Blacklock Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Blacklock, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on December 14, 1835, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7
  • Elizabeth Blacklock, English convict from Southampton, who was transported aboard the "Angelina" on April 25, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
  • William Blacklock, aged 21, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Sea Queen" 9
  • William Blacklock, aged 21, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sea Queen" in 1850 9

New Zealand Blacklock 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:

Blacklock Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. George Blacklock, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Sevilla" arriving in Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1859 10
  • W. Blacklock, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dilpussund" in 1877

West Indies Blacklock 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. 11
Blacklock Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • George Blacklock, who settled in Barbados in 1635
  • George Blacklock, aged 32, who landed in Barbados in 1635 6
  • Mr. George Blacklock, (b. 1603), aged 32, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Blacklock (post 1700) +

  • Les Blacklock (1921-1995), American film-maker and photographer
  • William Blacklock, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Apia, 1888-90; U.S. Vice Consul General in Apia, 1890-96, 1897-1904; Nuku'alofa, 1898-1904 13
  • Cornelia M. Blacklock, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Presidential Elector for Missouri, 1924 13
  • Allen B. Blacklock (1904-1991), American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1944, 1964 13
  • Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791), Scottish poet, born at Annan, Dumfriesshire; his parents were natives of Cumberland, poor but well educated, his father was a bricklayer, when six months old he lost his sight by an attack of smallpox 14
  • Raymond Patrick "Ray" Blacklock (1955-2020), Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Ronald Blacklock, British submarine Captain
  • Norman James Blacklock (1928-2006), English surgeon in the Royal Navy, who served as Medical Officer to The Queen (1976-1993)
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. 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)
  6. 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)
  7. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1835 with 132 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1835
  8. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Angelina voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 171 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/angelina/1844
  9. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SEA QUEEN 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850SeaQueen.htm
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  12. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  13. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  14. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 24 Jun. 2019
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