Bellendyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The roots of the name Bellendyn are found among the Strathclyde-Briton people of the ancient Scottish/English Borderlands. Bellendyn was originally found 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 Bellendyn family

The surname Bellendyn 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 Bellendyn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellendyn 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 Bellendyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellendyn Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that rules have developed and the process of spelling according to sound has been abandoned. Scottish names from before that time tend to appear under many different spelling variations. Bellendyn has been spelled Ballentine, Ballantyne, Ballantine, Ballentyne, Bannentyne, Bannantyne, Ballanden, Ballanden, Ballendine, Ballendyne, Ballentine and many more.

Early Notables of the Bellendyn 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 Forfarshire; Richard Bannatyne (died 1605), Scottish clergyman and scribe who served as secretary to John Knox; Sir James Bellenden of Broughton; William Bellenden, Lord Bellenden (died 1671), Treasurer-Depute of Scotland; and William Ballenden or Ballantyne (1616-1661), Scottish divine and a prefect-apostolic of the Roman Catholic church, a native of Douglas, Lanarkshire. 6 John...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bellendyn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bellendyn family to Ireland

Some of the Bellendyn 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.

Migration of the Bellendyn family

Unwelcome in their beloved homeland, many Scots sailed for the colonies of North America. There, they found land and freedom, and even the opportunity to make a new nation in the American War of Independence. These Scottish settlers played essential roles in the founding of the United States, and the shaping of contemporary North America. Among them: Dougal Ballentine who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767; William Ballintin, who settled in Philadelphia in 1802; and George Bennantine, who settled in Philadelphia in 1853. When the Latter Day Saint movement was getting started in the United States, and about the time they had settled in Nauvoo, missionaries were sent into Great Britain. One man who was particularly impressed by the message of these missionaries was John Ballantyne, a poor farm worker who lived in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Scotland with his wife Janet and nine children. John and his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there in Scotland. Then he and a group of other Saints decided to move to Nauvoo, Illinois. So together they chartered a sailing vessel, the “.

Citations +

Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. 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)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print