Blaycitch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The history of the name Blaycitch begins in the Scottish/English Borderlands with a family of Strathclyde-Briton ancestry. It is a name for a person with dark hair. As such, the Blaycitch 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

Early Origins of the Blaycitch family

The surname Blaycitch 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

Early History of the Blaycitch family

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

Blaycitch Spelling Variations

Medieval Scottish names are rife with spelling variations. This is due to the fact that scribes in that era spelled according to the sound of words, rather than any set of rules. Blaycitch has been spelled Blacklock, Blakelock, Blacklocke, Blakelocke, Blaikelock, Blaiklock and many more.

Early Notables of the Blaycitch family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blaycitch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Blaycitch family

Many Scots were left with few options other than to leave their homeland for the colonies across the Atlantic. Some of these families fought to defend their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. Others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these families have recently been able to rediscover their roots through Clan societies and other 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..

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)