Bakan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Bakan reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Bakan family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Bakan family lived in Suffolk. Originally, the name Bakan was originally derived from a seigniory in Normandy. Some of the family came from Maine, and there the name was also spelt Bacco. 1 This name appeared in England after members of the Bakan family had migrated from Normandy to Suffolk.

"Some derive this surname from the Saxon baccen or buccen, a beech—tree. Upon the monument of Thomas Bacon, in Brome Church in Suffolk (England), there is a beech—tree engraven in brass, with a man resting under it. It appears, also, that the first Lord—keeper, Sir Nicholas Bacon, with his two wives, are represented in a similar manner." 2

Early Origins of the Bakan family

The surname Bakan was first found in Suffolk, where they held a family seat at Monks' Bradfield as early as the reign of Richard (1189-1199.) 3 Now known as Bradfield St. George, Monks-Bradfield is a parish, in the union of Thingoe, hundred of Thedwastry, in the west division of Suffolk. 4

Shortly after the Conquest, some of the family was also found at Letheringsett, in Norfolk. "According to the genealogy of the great Suffolk family of Bacon, one Grimbald, a relative of the Norman chieftain William de Warenne, came to England and settled near Holt. His great grandson is stated to have taken the name Bacon. " 5

Not all the family went to England as seen by William Bacon who in 1082, endowed the abbey of the Holy Trinity at Caen. "Richard Bacon occurs later; and 1154 Roger Bacon held estates in Wiltshire. In 1165 Robert, William, and Alexander Bacon held four knights' fees of ancient enfeoffment in Essex from the Barony of Montfichet. " 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included: John le Bacon. T. Cecilia Bacun in Norfolk; Wymer Bacon, Surrey; and Simon Bacon, Oxfordshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Walterus Bacun. 6

"Knightly families of Bacon or Bacune held manors in the 13th and 14th centuries in the parishes of Dengie and Mountnessing [Essex], manors which seem to have taken in each case the name of Bacon from their early lords. Probably the original Bacons of Essex branched off long ago from the great Suffolk family of Bachun, Bacun, or Bacon, itself descended from a Norman stock in the 11th century. In the 13th century, Bacun was a common name in Suffolk and Oxfordshire, and less so in Norfolk and Gloucestershire. " 7

Early History of the Bakan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bakan research. Another 208 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1214, 1294, 1500, 1510, 1512, 1540, 1541, 1561, 1567, 1579, 1586, 1587, 1591, 1593, 1594, 1600, 1618, 1621, 1622, 1623, 1624, 1626, 1645, 1647, 1657, 1660, 1663, 1666, 1672, 1676, 1685, 1687, 1700, 1707 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Bakan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bakan Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Bacon, Bachun, Bacun and others.

Early Notables of the Bakan family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Nicholas Bacon (1510-1579), an English politician, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. His daughter Elizabeth Bacon (c. 1541-1621) is presumed to have been the Lady Neville of My Ladye Nevells Booke, keyboard music by William Byrd ion 1591. Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet, of Redgrave (c. 1540-1624), MP, Premier Baronet of England, was half-brother of Sir Francis Bacon; Sir Francis Bacon (1587-1657), an English judge, son of John Bacon; Sir Edward Bacon (d. 1618), of Shrublands Hall in Suffolk, an English Member of Parliament; Francis Bacon (1600-1663), an English politician who sat...
Another 150 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bakan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bakan family to Ireland

Some of the Bakan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bakan migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Bakan name or one of its variants:

Bakan Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Max Bakan, who landed in Mississippi in 1903 8

The Bakan 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: Mediocria firma
Motto Translation: Mediocrity is safe.

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
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)