Show ContentsBloare History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The history of the name Bloare dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from a member of the family who worked as a blower, or one who plays the horn. 1

Early Origins of the Bloare family

The surname Bloare was first found in Staffordshire at Bloore-in-Tyrley or Blore Heath, a sparsely populated area of farmland best known as the site of the first major battle in the English Wars of the Roses fought on 23 September 1459. 2

This parish in the north division of the hundred of Totmonslow, which was known as Blore or Blore-Roy dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was recorded as Blora 3 and literally meant "place at the swelling or hill." 4

Early English rolls provide us a glimpse of the spelling variations used through Medieval times. Today we typically need to look beyond the spellings of these entries and concentrate on a phonetic appreciation of the names. Randulf Bla was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1202 and later in Huntingdonshire, Roger Blowe was listed there in 1271. Up in Yorkshire, the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 included an entry for Thomas Blaue. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included the following entries for the family: Henry Blowe, Cambridgeshire; Isabella Blowe, Oxfordshire; and William Blowe, Oxfordshire. 1

In Somerset, there was one entry, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III), that of John Blowe. 6

Early History of the Bloare family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bloare research. Another 303 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1459, 1548, 1574, 1575, 1618, 1639, 1640, 1648, 1649, 1662, 1669, 1701, 1708 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Bloare History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bloare Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bloare has undergone many spelling variations, including Bloor, Blore, Bloare, Bloore, Blour, Bloure and others.

Early Notables of the Bloare family

Distinguished members of the family include John Blow (1649-1708), an English Baroque composer and organist, appointed to Westminster Abbey in 1669. He "is said by all his biographers to have been born at North Colfingham, in Nottinghamshire, in 1648, but the registers of that parish...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bloare Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bloare family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bloare were among those contributors: the farmer of the name Bloor who settled in York in Upper Canada, from him came the name Bloor Street, one of the longest and most important streets in Toronto. This caused almost a chain reaction of streets in other cities of Canada to be also named Bloor. James Bloor landed in America in 1762.



  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.


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