| ![Show Contents]() Blean History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of BleanWhat does the name Blean mean? The tale of the Blean name began in the medieval era among the Boernician people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. Blean 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 Blean familyThe surname Blean 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 Blean familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blean 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 Blean History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Blean Spelling VariationsSince medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, and since there were no consistent rules for the translation of rules from Gaelic to English, spelling variations are extremely common in Boernician names of this vintage. Blean has been spelled Blain, Blane, Blaine, Blaines, Blahan and others. Early Notables of the Blean familySir 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 presidents of the (Students') Medical Society of Edinburgh...
Another 155 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blean Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Blean family to IrelandSome of the Blean 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.
| Blean migration to the United States | + |
Many of the Boernician-Scottish families who crossed the Atlantic settled along the eastern seaboard in communities that would become the backbone of the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. In the War of Independence, American families that remained loyal to the Crown moved north into Canada and became known as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestral culture of all of these proud Scottish families remains alive in North America in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Blean or a variant listed above:
Blean Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- George Blean, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 4
- James Blean, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 4
- John Blean, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 4
- Rose Anne Blean, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 4
- William Blean, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 4
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Blean (post 1700) | + |
- Blean Anson Calkins (1921-2003), American sports radio broadcaster
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.
- 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)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
- 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)
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