Show ContentsBlanes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestors of the families to use the name Blanes lived among the Boernicians of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The name comes from the Gaelic personal name Bleen, which means yellow.

Saint Blane (Blaan) was "one of the earliest bishops of Kingarth in Bute, is commemorated in the Martyrology of Oengus at August 10: 'With a host, sound, of noble birth, well-coloured, fair Blaan of Kingarth.' His name is from bid, that is yellow, from blavos. He is probably also the saint commemorated in the Calendar of Gorman as Blaan buadach Breton, 'triumphant Blaan of the Britons.' He gave name to Kilblane in Southend, Kintyre, and to Dunblane. According to a Bute legend he was mysteriously begotten of a water-sprite." 1

Early Origins of the Blanes family

The surname Blanes was first found in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire where the name is a "reduced form of MacBlain." 1

One of the first records of the family was that of "Blahan, presbyter of Litun probably Linton in Roxburghshire witnessed a quitclaim by Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews, 1127." 1

"Patrick Blane was provost of the burgh of Wigtown in 1561, and John Blain had a charter of the half of the ten-mark lands of Meikle-Wig in the parish of Whithorn in 1674. Agnes Blain [was] in the parish of Kirkcudbright, 1684." 1

Across the border in Yorkshire, England Andrew Blayne, Bleyn was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1219 and Nicholas Bleyne Was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls for Suffolk in 1275. Hamo de Blein was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1219. Later John Blayne was found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1507.

Down here, it is thought that the name was derived from the Old Welsh Bledgint, Middle English Blethyn. 2

While the aforementioned early origins are the traditional understandings of the origin of the family, one source claims the name to be "from the town of Blain, in Bretagne, France. Blaen, in the Welsh, signifies the summit or top; the same as pen, brig, and bar, the highest part of a mountain; the end or top of an object; the inland extremity of a glen; a leader or chief." 3

Early History of the Blanes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blanes research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1561, 1660, 1674, 1749, 1750, 1771, 1778, 1780, 1793, 1795, 1834, 1835 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Blanes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blanes Spelling Variations

Before the printing press and the first dictionaries appeared, names and other words were often spelled differently every time they were written. Blanes has appeared under the variations Blain, Blane, Blaine, Blaines, Blahan and others.

Early Notables of the Blanes family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir Gilbert Blane (1749-1834), Scottish physician, the fourth son of Mr. Gilbert Blane of Blanefield, Ayrshire, where he was born on 29 Aug. 1749. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the University of Edinburgh, being at first intended for the church, but was ultimately led to study medicine. After spending five years in the faculty of arts, and five more in that of medicine at Edinburgh, he took the degree of M.D. in the university of Glasgow on 28 Aug. 1778. During his studentship he was elected one of the...
Another 155 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blanes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blanes Ranking

In France, the name Blanes is the 9,574th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Blanes family to Ireland

Some of the Blanes family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Blanes migration to the United States +

The Scots who crossed the Atlantic were often on the run from poverty as well as persecution. They brought little with them, and often had nothing of their home country to hand down to their children. In the 20th century, Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Boernician Scots to recover their lost national legacy. 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 Blanes were among those contributors:

Blanes Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Blanes, aged 38, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1841 5
  • Monserrate Blanes, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1879 5
  • Francisco Blanes, aged 21, who landed in Puerto Rica in 1879 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Blanes (post 1700) +

  • Hector Gonzales Blanes, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Puerto Rico, 1948, 1952 6
  • Camilo Blanes Cortés (1946-2019), known professionally as Camilo Sesto, was a Spanish singer


The Blanes Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Paritur pax bello
Motto Translation: Peace is obtained by war.


  1. 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)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. 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)
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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