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Bain

The surname Bain is generally accepted as a descriptive surname.

The Bain family is accounted for in the surname lists of both the MacBain and the MacKay clans, with recognised septs (sub-branch) of the MacBain/MacBean clan including Bain, Bean, Beattie, Binnie, Macbeath, Macbeth, Macbheath, Macilvain and MacVean. Other derivative spelling variations include: Beane, Beyn, Bayn, Bene, Bane, Baine, Beine and many more.

There are a number of different meanings of the surname Bain.

An early version of the name was 'Mac'ic' Bheatha' or Macbeth from the gaelic "lively one" who gained fame when William Shakespeare wrote about him.

Like Macbeth, many of those with this name came from Moray and the northern Grampian mountains. When the powerful families of Moray were eventually made to acknowledge the authority of the Scottish monarch in the reign of Malcolm IV, the family was dispered, with many of them moving north. Many sought refuge with the descendants of Gillichattan more, or Clan Chattan. Legend has it that a MacBean settled in Petty, near Inverness in the 14th century and established his family under the protection of the clan Macintosh. The MacBeans also joined the Chattan confederation of clans, of which Macintosh was a major part and the family were sod bearers to the Chiefs of the great Clan Chattan. Other stories state that the McBeans have held the family seat in the Inverness region from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The earliest record of the McBean name in its more modern form appears in an old Kinrara manuscript of the mid 14th century, which names both Bean Macmilmhor and his son Milmor Macbean. The MacBains were also noted for their support of Robert the Bruce. The 12th chief Paul McBean fell into debt and was forced to relinquished the clan lands on the slopes of Loch Ness in about 1685. The family support the Jacobite uprising in 1715 which accounts for the anglicisation of the name. Many members were transported to the Americas. A number stayed and fought for 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' at the battle of Culloden in 1746.

The use of the surname Bain, rather than MacBain again first appears in Scottish documents from the early 14th century when records show that Thomas Ban was burgess of Perth in 1324AD. Sir James Ben or de Bane was Archdeacon of St Andrews. He was appointed the Bishophric of that see by Pope John XXII in 1328. In 1331 he crowned David II and is Queens at Scone. During the useupation of Edward Baliol, Bishop Bane took refuge in Flanders, where he died on 22 Sep 1332. There is a monument erected in his memory at the Augustinian Monastery at Bourges. Later references show that John Bane was burgess of Edinburgh in 1423 and Robert Bane held a tenement in the Flukargait, Dundee in 1442. Also, William Bayn was a tenant in Kethyk in 1467. The Bains of Caithness, are descended from John Bain, son of Neil Neilson, son of Donald (Mackay) who was murdered in 1370. The most important family of the name was Bane or Bayne of Tullock, Ross-shire, which in 1871 was represented in the female line by Duncan Davidson, Esquire of Tulloch Castle.

Bain Crest, Clan Badge & Motto
The crest is an or (gold) wolf's head on an azure background. The azure represents fidelity and veracity. The gold or yellow and indicates the bearer was generous, alternatively it indicates elevation of the mind.

The Clan badge consists of a dexter arm armed grasping a dirk proper with blue and gold, and the motto Et marte et arte

The translation means both by strength and art

MacBean Crest & Clan Badge
MOTTO is "Touch not a catt bot a targe".

The motto literally translates as "Don't touch a cat without a shield", but more broadly means that a member of the Cat Clan, you do not want to mess with us unless you have the protection of a Targe (a shield made of wood or metal and rawhide that forms part of the armor used in battle).

MacBean Family Tartan