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| Origins Available: |
| | Scotland |
The name Blakelake was first used by a Strathclyde-Briton family from the Scottish/English Borderlands. It was a name for a person with dark hair. As such, the Blakelake surname most likely evolved from a nickname from the Middle English "blakelok," in turn from the Old English blec, meaning "black," or "dark," and locc, meaning a "lock of hair." 1
Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Black Loch, location names in Lanark, Renfrew and Stirling. 2
The surname Blakelake was first found in Wiltshire where Peter Blacloke was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3
Dusting off more old references, we found Adam Blakelok in the Subsidy Rolls for Cumberland in 1332 and Robert Blaykelok in Yorkshire in 1431. 4
About fifty years later in Scotland, "William Blakloche, chaplain in the monastery of Dunfermlyne, appears as charter witness in 1483. " 5 The same source notes two of the same name but with very different stories: "Adam Blaiklok of the West Port of Edinburgh was hanged for perjury in 1615, and another Adam Blaiklok was constable of the parish of Kirkpatrick-Tuxta, 1617." 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blakelake research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1332, 1400, 1597, 1598, 1637, 1638, 1684, 1721, 1791 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Blakelake History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the era before dictionaries, there were no rules governing the spelling or translation of names or any other words. Consequently, there are an enormous number of spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names. Blakelake has appeared as Blacklock, Blakelock, Blacklocke, Blakelocke, Blaikelock, Blaiklock and many more.
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blakelake Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The freedom, opportunity, and land of the North American colonies beckoned. There, Scots found a place where they were generally free from persecution and where they could go on to become important players in the birth of new nations. Some fought in the American War of Independence, while others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these Scottish settlers have been able to recover their lost national heritage in the last century through highland games and Clan societies in North America. Among them: Thomas Blacklocke, who settled in Virginia in 1623; George Blacklock, who settled in Barbados in 1635; as well as Martha Blacklock, who settled in Maryland in 1722..