Show ContentsBannatyne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Bannatyne is an ancient Scottish name that was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for someone who lived in Roxburghshire, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages. One source claims the name was of local origin and denoted "a place of ancient pagan worship among the Celts, whose principal deity was Belen or Baal, the sun. To the honor of this deity, the Celts lighted fires on the 1st of May and Midsummer day. Baalantine signifies 'the fire of Baal,' from Baden and teine, Gaelic, fire. " 1 2

Early Origins of the Bannatyne family

The surname Bannatyne was first found in Roxburghshire "probably from the lands of Bellenden in the parish of Roberton. There is also a Ballinton, Ballintoun or Ballintome mentioned in Stirling Retours. " 3 4

"This Scottish name has undergone remarkable changes. 'Sir Richard of Bannochtine of the Corhous,' who flourished c. 1460, sometimes wrote himself Bannachty, and his son is called Sir John Bannatyne. This spelling continued till temp. Charles. II., when the proprietor of Corhouse was called indifferently John Bannatyne and Johne Ballentyne, and his son is described as the son of John Ballenden. In fact, down to a recent period, the forms Bannatyne and Ballantyne have been used indifferently by brothers of one house, and even by the same individual at different times. " 5

Early History of the Bannatyne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bannatyne research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1153, 1460, 1545, 1553, 1563, 1577, 1591, 1605, 1608, 1616, 1630, 1642, 1661, 1671, 1680, 1800 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bannatyne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bannatyne Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Bannatyne has been spelled Ballentine, Ballantyne, Ballantine, Ballentyne, Bannentyne, Bannantyne, Ballanden, Ballanden, Ballendine, Ballendyne, Ballentine and many more.

Early Notables of the Bannatyne family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • George Bannatyne (1545-1608), collector of Scottish poems, eponym of the Bannatyne Club in Edinburgh, he was the seventh of the twenty-three children of James Bannatyne of Kirktown of Newtyle in Forfa...

Ireland Migration of the Bannatyne family to Ireland

Some of the Bannatyne family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Bannatyne migration to the United States +

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them:

Bannatyne Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Bannatyne, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1804 6

New Zealand Bannatyne 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:

Bannatyne Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • W M Bannatyne, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
  • Miss Ninian Bannatyne, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Mary Ann" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 24th September 1858 7
  • John Bannatyne, aged 22, a joiner, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Resolute" in 1865
  • James Bannatyne, aged 28, a farm servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Resolute" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Bannatyne (post 1700) +

  • Lesley Bannatyne, American author
  • William Bannatyne (1743-1833), Lord Bannatyne, Scottish lawyer and judge
  • Duncan Bannatyne (b. 1949), Scottish entrepreneur
  • George Bannatyne (1545-1608), Scottish antiquary and collector of poems
  • James Bannatyne (b. 1975), New Zealand football player
  • Andrew Bannatyne (1829-1889), Scottish-born Canadian politician and fur trader
  • Thomas Bannatyne Gillies (1828-1889), Scottish-born, New Zealand politician
  • Robert Bannatyne Finlay (1842-1929), Scottish jurist and statesman


  1. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  2. Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
  3. 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)
  4. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  5. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  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. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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