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| Origins Available: |
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The saga of the name Blaycech begins with a Strathclyde-Briton family in the ancient Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for a person with dark hair. As such, the Blaycech 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 Blaycech 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 Blaycech 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 Blaycech History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Blaycech has been spelled Blacklock, Blakelock, Blacklocke, Blakelocke, Blaikelock, Blaiklock and many more.
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blaycech Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. 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..