Bain or Bains is an English, French, Punjabi (Jatt), and Scottish surname. It may also be a variant form of a German surname. Bains shares many of the origins of the surname Baines.

Origin of the surname

Northern English

There are two origins for the Northern English surname.

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".

French

There are several other derivations of the French surname.

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. The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname Bains is Bàins (masculine), and Bhàin (feminine).

German

The name may also be a variant spelling of the north German surname Behn.

Punjabi

The Punjabi surname Bains is common amongst Punjabi Jats, which is the name of the Jat clan.<Highland, mountainous Ben/Ban/Van/Alba, Bengal {

People with the surname