Blake Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Blake Family History

Blake Family History

The ancient origin of the name Blake was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Blake include Blaikie, Blick, Blakey and Blaky. Blake is a nickname meaning 'dark one', from a person with a dark complexion. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above countries. Examples of such are a Luke Blake who was tenant of land in Berwick, Scotland, in 1266 and a Hamo Blake, County Buckinghamshire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', in the year 1273. The variant Blaikie is mostly found in Scotland where it is first recorded in a William Blaike of Blainslie in the year 1605. In Ireland the Blakes were one of the famous 'Tribes of Galway'. They descend from Richard Caddell, who was Sheriff of Connacht in 1303. They were extensive land holders at Ardfry, Balglunin, Kiltullagh and Menlo in County Galway in the seventeenth century. Blakestown, in Kildare, was named after the a branch of the family who settled there.The Blake family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Blake descendants.