Bain (surname)

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

Last updated January 30, 2025

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

Origin of the surname

Northern English

There are two origins for the Northern English surname.

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).
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.

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".
In other cases, the name may originate from a habitational name, derived from a place in Ille-et-Vilaine.^[2]

Scottish

The Scottish surname Bain 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, which is the name of the Jat clan.^[4]^[5]

People with the surname

Bain

Addison Bain (1935–2025), NASA scientist
Alexander Bain (philosopher) (1818–1903), Scottish philosopher and educationist
Alexander Bain (inventor) (1811–1877), Scottish instrument inventor, technician, and clockmaker
Aly Bain (born 1946), Scottish fiddler
Andrew Geddes Bain (c. 1797–1864), South African geologist, road engineer, palaeontology and explorer
Atu Emberson Bain, Fijian political leader
Barbara Bain (born 1931), American actress
Barbara J. Bain, Australian professor of haematology
Bill Bain (disambiguation), several persons
Bonar Bain (1923–2005), Canadian actor and identical twin brother of Conrad Bain
Conrad Bain (1923–2013), Canadian actor and identical twin brother of Bonar Bain
Dan Bain (1874–1962), Canadian athlete and merchant
David Bain (born 1972), New Zealander associated with one of that country's most notable murder cases
Donald Bain (disambiguation), several persons
Edgar Bain (1891–1971), American metallurgist
Ewen Bain (1925–1989), Scottish cartoonist
F. W. Bain (1863–1940), British writer
George Bain (disambiguation), several persons
H. Foster Bain (1871–1948), American geologist
Jean Bain, Australian basketball player
James Bain (disambiguation), several persons
Jimmy Bain (1947–2016), Scottish bassist
Joe S. Bain (1912–1991), American economist
John P. Bain or TotalBiscuit (1984–2018), British game critic and commentator
Ken Bain, American professor and author
Kevin Bain (born 1972), Scottish footballer
Mary Monnett Bain (1833–1885), American Methodist
Miranda Bain, Australian filmmaker and strategic advisor, producer of Strikebound (1984)
Raymone Bain, spokeswoman from the public relations firm Davis, Bain & Associates Inc.
Robert Bain (disambiguation), several people
Robin Bain (born 1980), American actress
Sam Bain (born 1971), British television writer
Thomas Bain (1834–1915), Canadian parliamentarian
Wilfred Conwell Bain (1908–1997), American music educator
William Bain (disambiguation), several persons

Bains

Harmilan Bains Indian athlete
Harry Bains, Canadian politician

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of British Surnames Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2nd edition (1976)
1 2 3 4 5 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".
↑ Macbean, L. (1905), Guide to Gaelic Conversation and Pronunciation, with vocabularies, dialogues, phrases, and letter forms (2nd ed.), Stirling: Eneas Mackay, p. 43
↑ Journal of Regional History. Vol. 2. Department of History, Guru Nanak Dev University. 1981. p. 29.
↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh (1996). "Appendix B". Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. People of India: National series. Vol. 8 (Illustrated ed.). Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 1355–1357. ISBN 0-19-563357-1. OCLC 35662663.

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[1] Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of British Surnames Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2nd edition (1976)

[ancestry-2] 1 2 3 4 5 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

[:5-4] Journal of Regional History. Vol. 2. Department of History, Guru Nanak Dev University. 1981. p. 29.

[:6-5] Singh, Kumar Suresh (1996). "Appendix B". Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. People of India: National series. Vol. 8 (Illustrated ed.). Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 1355–1357. ISBN 0-19-563357-1. OCLC 35662663.

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