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Blades History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Blades History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the name Blades date back to the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Blades family lived in Yorkshire, where they settled in a place called Blades, which is now lost. Many of the place-names that yield surnames are of small communities, villages and hamlets and some of these no longer exist. The family claim descent from Drago de Bewere, a Danish nobleman who settled at a place called Blades in north England around 1016. He obtained extensive land grants which were recorded in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086. The variant Burseblades emerged through a compounding of the names of the founder and the estate.

Early Origins of the Blades family

The surname Blades was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat from early times.

Early History of the Blades family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blades research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1297 and 1562 are included under the topic Early Blades History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blades Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Blades are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Blades include: Blades, Blade, Blate, Blait, Blayde, Blaide, Blaydes, Blaites, Blaits, Blaides and many more.

Early Notables of the Blades family

More information is included under the topic Early Blades Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blades Ranking

In the United States, the name Blades is the 8,326^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Blades migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Blades or a variant listed above:

Blades Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John and William Blades, who settled in Virginia in 1652
William Blades, who landed in Virginia in 1652 2
William Blades, who landed in Virginia in 1655 2
Mary Blades, who landed in Maryland in 1669 2
Robert Blades, who arrived in Maryland in 1669 2

Blades migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Blades Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Christopher Blades U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1783 3

Blades migration to Australia +

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

Blades Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Esther Blades, (b. 1783), aged 31, English servant who was convicted in York, England for 7 years for coining, transported aboard the "Broxbournebury" in January 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1828 4
Mr. John Blades, English convict who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for life , transported aboard the "China" on 25th January 1846, arriving in Norfolk Island, Australia 5

Blades 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:

Blades Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Eliza Blades, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 6
Mr. Joseph Blades, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 6
Miss Mary Blades, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 6
Miss Bithiah Blades, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 6
Miss Fanny Blades, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Blades 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. 7

Blades Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Anthony Blades, (b. 1610), aged 24, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 2
Mr. Nicholas Blades, aged 21, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Blades (post 1700) +

Joan Blades (b. 1956), American co-founder of Berkeley Systems in 1987, a software company, best known for their After Dark screensavers featuring flying toasters
Brian Keith Blades (b. 1965), American NFL football wide receiver who played from 1988 to 1998 for the Seattle Seahawks
Horatio Benedict "Bennie" Blades Sr. (b. 1966), American former NFL football cornerback and safety who played from 1988 to 1997, inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame (2006)
Francis Raymond Blades (1896-1979), American Major League Baseball left fielder, manager, coach and scout, active 1922 to 1932
Jack Blades (b. 1954), American rock musician
Ray Blades, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1972 8
L. S. Blades Jr., American politician, Mayor of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 1955-56 8
Franklin Blades, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Illinois, 1864 8
Anthony O. Blades, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Maryland State Senate 9th District, 1998 8
William Blades (1824-1890), English printer and bibliographer in London
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Blades family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Alfred J Blades, British Cook, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 9

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/broxbournebury
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 5th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/china
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html