Bas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Scotland

The name Bas was most likely taken on by someone who was a person of small stature having derived from the Old English word bas, meaning short. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the French word bas which has the same meaning. 1

Early Origins of the Bas family

The surname Bas was first found in Leicestershire where "Bass is a Leicestershire name. Basse occurred in Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire in the 13th century. Edward Bashe held the manor of Botelers in Prittlewell parish, Essex, in the reign of Elizabeth." 2

Further north in Scotland, ancient records there found the name in Aberbuthenoth where "Andrew de Bas who was one of the jurors in a dispute regarding the Kirketun of Aberbuthenoth" in 1206. Apparently, he derived his name from Bass in Aberdeenshire. 3 Bass Isle is found in the parish of North Berwick, county of Haddington. 4

Early History of the Bas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bas research. Another 37 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1583, 1653, 1698, 1699 and 1725 are included under the topic Early Bas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bas Spelling Variations

Huguenot surnames were only slightly Anglicized, and they remain to this day a distinct group of surnames in England. Nevertheless, Huguenot surnames have been subject to numerous spelling alterations since the names emerged in France. French surnames have a variety of spelling variations because the French language has changed drastically over the centuries. French was developed from the vernacular Latin of the Roman Empire. It is divided into three historic and linguistic periods: Old French, which developed before the 14th century; Middle French, which was used between the 14th and 16th centuries; and Modern French, which was used after the 16th century and continues to be in use today. In all of these periods, the French language was heavily influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when the barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heaviliy from the Italian language during the Renaissance. Huguenot names have numerous variations. The name may be spelled Bass, Bassin, Bassen and others.

Early Notables of the Bas family

Notable in the family at this time was

William Basse (c.1583-1653), an English poet from Thame, Oxfordshire, a follower of Edmund Spenser and it best known for his eulogy he wrote about Shakespeare. 5
Jeremiah Basse (died 1725), was 5th Governor of East & West New Jersey (1698-1699.)

Bas Ranking

In France, the name Bas is the 3,361^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 6

Bas migration to the United States +

Early records show that people bearing the name Bas arrived in North America quite early:

Bas Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Herman Hendrickszen Bas, who landed in New York in 1682 7

Bas Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Bas, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1751 7
Joseph Bas, who arrived in Maine in 1752

Bas Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francisco Bas, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816 7
Juan Bas, aged 18, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1831 7
Sebastian Bas, aged 40, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1837 7
Sebastian bas, who arrived in Key West, Fla. in 1837
Jose Bas, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bas (post 1700) +

Nicolas-Denis de Bas de L'Aulne, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 8
Noel Bas (b. 1877), French Olympian who won a silver medal for gymnastics at the 1900 games
Manuel Durán y Bas, Spanish politician
Bas Kuipers (b. 1994), Dutch footballer
Bas Veenstra (b. 1995), Dutch basketball player
Bas van Erp (1979-2016), Dutch two-time bronze medalist wheelchair tennis player in 2004
Bas Kast, German writer
Bas Jan Ader (1942-1975), Dutch conceptual artist

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Nicolas-Denis Bas. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html