Ballantine is a surname of Scottish Gaelic origin, with variant spellings Balentyne, Ballantyne, Ballintine, Ballentyne, and Ballendine.[1] Other variants include Bellenden, Ballentine,[2] and Bannatyne.[3]

It is a habitational surname, probably derived from the Gaelic baile an deadhain, meaning "the dean's farmstead". Its most probable location is Bellenden, now spelt Bellendean, on Ale Water, west of Roberton in Roxburghshire, but there may be more than one location origin, as there is Bellenden in Selkirk, and a village called Ballintoun, in Stirlingshire. The name has often been associated with Falkirk and Edinburgh as well as Roxburghshire.[1][2]

William Arthur, in An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names, with an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857) suggested that the name denoted "a place of ancient pagan worship", derived from the Celts, who worshipped the sun, called Belen or Baal.[4][3]

Early recordings of the name include John Ballenden (also spelt Ballentyne and Ballantyne), archdeacon of Moray around 1450,[2] and Sir Alexander Balendin, was provost of Methven in 1563.[1]

Notable people

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Ballantyne Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Ballentine Surname Meaning & Ballentine Family History". Ancestry. 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024. Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
  3. ^ a b "Ballantyne Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". HouseOfNames. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Activities". Ballantyne FYI. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008.