Baines - Meno

This interesting name has three possible origins. The first from the Gaelic "ban" meaning "fari" or "white" as in Ewin Bayne alias Quhyte recorded in Perth, Scotland in 1623. Secondly from the Olde English "ban" meaning "bone", which later became "bon" and survives as a nickname "Bones" in the Midlands and Southern England and thirdly from the Olde French "bain", bath, which possibly denotes occupation as an attendant at the public baths. It is also possibly a locational name from France a village near Bayeux in Normandy. In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Bain, Baine, Bains, Baynes, Bayns, etc.. Many present-day English bearers of the names Baines and Baynes are descended from Robert Baines, who was born circa 1587 in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is not known whether he was of Scottish or Welsh origin. One Alice Baines an early settler in Barbados circa 1680 is recorded in the parish of St. Michaels as a landowner of some standing. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Baines, which was dated 1246, in the Lancashire Assize Court, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "the Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.