Baines is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of English,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

or Welsh origin. It shares many of the same roots with the British surname Bains.Reaney, P.H. ''A Dictionary of British Surnames'' Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2nd edition (1976)Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames'' Oxford University Press (1988) It shares some roots with the British surname Bain.

Derivation and variants

Baines has a number of different sources, several of them nicknames and another based on an occupation. In

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the

north of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word ''bān'' ('bone') became

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

''bān'' and ''bain''. It may have become a nickname in the plural, meaning 'bones' or ' ong-egs' (''cf.'' modern German ''Bein'', also meaning both "bone" and "leg"). The Middle English ''bayn'', ''beyn'' and the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''beinn'' meant 'straight' or 'direct', which may have become a nickname. The Middle English ''bayne'' (and French ''bain'') meant 'bath'. This may have become an occupational surname for an attendant at a public bath. Baines may also have Welsh roots, from the patronymic ''ab Einws'' ('son of Einws'). ''Einws'' is a shortened version of the Welsh name ''Ennion'', meaning 'Anvil'. Variants of the surname Baines include Bains, Banes, Baynes and Bayns.

Frequency of occurrence

At the time of the British Census of 1881, its relative frequency was highest in

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

(31.2 times the British average), followed by

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

and

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. Retrieved 23 January 2014 Hanks and Hodges suggest in their "A Dictionary of Surnames" that many present day Baines descend from Robert Baines of Ipswich, Suffolk, England (born ). John Baines, Liverpool, England, Doctor of Physics.

Notable people with the surname Baines

''(In alphabetical order)'' * Ajay Baines, Canadian ice hockey player * Andrew Baines, Australian artist *

Anthony Baines Anthony Cuthbert Baines (6 October 1912 – 2 February 1997) was an English bassoon player and organologist who produced a wide variety of works on the history of musical instruments, and was a founding member of the Galpin Society.'' Experimenta ...

, English musicologist * Charlie Baines (1896–1954), English footballer *

Chris Baines John Christopher Baines (born 4 May 1947) is an English naturalist, one of the UK's leading independent environmentalists.Edward Baines (1774–1848) Edward Baines (1774–1848) was the editor and proprietor of the ''Leeds Mercury'' (which, by his efforts, became the leading provincial paper in England), politician, and the author of historical and geographic works of reference. On his death ...

, English newspaper-proprietor and politician *

Edward Baines (1800–1890) Sir Edward Baines (28 May 1800 – 2 March 1890), also known as Edward Baines Jr, was a nonconformist English newspaper editor and Member of Parliament (MP), and ancestor of author Jilly Cooper. Biography Edward Baines, of St Ann's Hill, Lee ...

, son of the above, also a nonconformist English newspaper editor and Member of Parliament *

Frank Baines Sir Frank Baines, KCVO, CBE, FRIBA (1877–1933) was chief architect at the British Office of Works from 1920 to 1927. His most famous work was Thames House and its neighbour Imperial Chemical House (1929–30) in London. Thames House is ...

(1877–1933), English architect *

James Baines (draper) James Baines (6 August 1648 – 9 January 1717) was an English businessman. He was a woollendraper and philanthropist. Life Baines was born at Berkenhead Farm in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, in 1648.

(1648–1717), English draper *

James Baines (merchant) James Baines (1822 – 8 March 1889) was a British merchant, shipowner and shipbroker by trade. He became famous as the founder of James Baines & Co. that ran a fleet of 86 ships on the Liverpool Black Ball line between England and Australia i ...

(1822–1889), English merchant * Lewis Baines (1998–present) English footballer playing for Fleetwood Town * Francis Baines (1648–1710), English Jesuit * Sir George Grenfell-Baines, English architect * George Washington Baines (1809–1882), American politician, journalist, great-grandfather of president

Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

Harold Baines Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former designated hitter and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with the Chi ...

, former right fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball * Jervoise Athelstane Baines, Census Commissioner in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

* John Baines (born 1946), incumbent Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford * Joseph Wilson Baines (1846–1906), Secretary of State of Texas, grandfather of president

* Kate Baines (born 1978), English actress * Leighton Baines (born 1984) English footballer *

Matthew Talbot Baines Matthew Talbot Baines (17 February 1799 – 22 January 1860) was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He most notably served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Lord Palmerston's 1855 to 1858 administration. Background and educ ...

(1799–1860), British lawyer and Liberal politician * Michael Baines (1898–1990), English cricketer and British Army officer * Nicholas M. Baines (born 1978), English keyboard player (Kaiser Chiefs) *

Nick Baines (bishop) Nicholas Baines (born 13 November 1957) is a British Anglican bishop. He has served as Bishop of Leeds since 2014,

(born 1957), Bishop of Croydon * Paul Baines (academic) (born 1973), British marketing academic * Paul Baines (footballer) (born 1972), former English footballer *

Peter Augustine Baines Peter Augustine Baines (1786/87–1843) was an English Benedictine, Titular Bishop of Siga and Vicar Apostolic of the Western District (England), Vicar Apostolic of the Western District of England. Life For his early education he was sent to La ...

(1787–1843), English Benedictine * Richard Baines, English historical figure - Informant against

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

* Robert A. Baines (born 1946), American former mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire * Steve Baines (born 1954), former English footballer * Thomas Baines (1820–1875), English artist and explorer * Thomas Baines (Ontario) (1799–1867), Canadian Crown Land Agent * William Baines (1899–1922), English pianist and composer

Distribution

As a surname, Baines is the 1,732nd most common surname in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, with 6,209 bearers. It is most common in

, where it is the 626th most common surname, with 1,784 bearers. Other concentrations include,

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, (88th,1,704),

City of Leeds Leeds, also known as the City of Leeds, is a metropolitan borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in West Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre of Leeds and the towns of Farsley, Gar ...

, (167th,1,722), and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, (380th, 1,702).

References

{{surname Welsh-language surnames English-language surnames Surnames of Welsh origin Surnames of Lowland Scottish origin

Derivation and variants

Frequency of occurrence

Notable people with the surname Baines

Distribution

See also

References