Bain (surname)

Bain or Bains is an English, French, Punjabi (Jatt), and Scottish surname. It may also be a variant form of a German surname.

Bains
Reconstruction of a Roman bath house in Germany.
Origin
Region of originEngland; Punjab(jat), Germany, Scotland

Bains shares many of the same origins as the surname Baines.[1]

Origin of the surname

Northern English

There are two origins for the Northern English surname.

  1. The northern English surname Bains is sometimes derived from a nickname meaning "bone", which probably referred to someone who was exceptionally tall, or lean. This nickname is derived from the Old English ban, meaning "bone". In northern dialects of Middle English, the a was preserved, but in southern dialects the a was changed to o (the southern form became the standard).
  2. In other cases, the northern English surname is derived from a nickname of a hospitable person. This nickname is derived from the northern Middle English beyn, bayn, which mean "welcoming", "friendly"; these are in turn derived from the Old Norse beinn, meaning "straight", "direct".[2]

English/French

An English and French origin of the surname Bains is from the occupational name of an attendant of a public bath house. This name is derived from the Middle English, and Old French baine, meaning "bath".[2]

French

There are several other derivations of the French surname.

  1. One French derivation of the surname Bains is from a topographic name, for someone who lived near a Roman bath. This name is derived from the Old French baine, meaning "bath".
  2. In other cases, the name may originate from a habitational name, derived from a place in Ille-et-Vilaine.[2]

Scottish

The Scottish surname Bains is derived from a nickname for a person with fair-hair. This name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic bàn, meaning "white", "fair". The name was common in the Scottish Highlands, and is first recorded in 1324 in Perth. The surname can also be, in some cases, a reduced form of the surname McBain.[2] The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname Bains is Bàins (masculine),[3] and Bhàin (feminine).

German

The name may also be a variant spelling of the north German surname Behn.[2]

Punjabi

The Punjabi surname Bains is common amongst Punjabi Jats.

Bhim Singh Dahiya[9] writes with reference to Heornle and Cunningham that Harshavardhana belonged to this clan. He is connected with Shrimalpur which is a village in East Punjab and is nowadays called Māhalpur(District Hoshiarpur Punjab) Even today it is inhabited by Bains clan of Jats. [10] They are mentioned in Mahabharata along with Khatkal, Karaskar, Mahishaka, Karkana and Viraka, by their Sanskrit name Mahisha which becomes or Bhains or Bains in Indian languages of english word buffalo. [11] Bains is one of 36 royal clans in India along with Salar, Dahima etc. The meaning of the surname is said to be a word for Buffalo, reflecting the Punjab region's agricultural tradition.[4]

People with the surname


  • Shaheed baba Sahib Singh ji Bains village Jallah

References
  1. Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of British Surnames Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2nd edition (1976)
  2. Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 25 September 2010 which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Erskine".
  3. Macbean, L. (1905), Guide to Gaelic Conversation and Pronunciation, with vocabularies, dialogues, phrases, and letter forms (2nd ed.), Stirling: Eneas Mackay, p. 43
  4. https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/punjabi-she-buffalo.1435078/
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