Blakey

Recorded in the spellings of Blakey and Blaikie, there are two possible sources of this Anglo-Scottish surname. The first is that it originates from the village of Blakey in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and the second that it is a diminutive spelling of the surname Blake. This latter surname originates either from the pre 7th century Olde English 'blac' meaning pale or white, or confusingly 'blaec', meaning dark or black! It must have been quite a problem sorting the blacks from the whites fifteen hundred years ago. What is certain is that the village of Blakey is first recorded in the register known as the 'Feet of Fines' for Yorkshire in 1223, and then as "Blakehou". This probably translates as 'The white (or black) hill'. Early examples of the name recordings illustrate the development both in England and Scotland: Margaret Blakye, christened at Bingley in Yorkshire in 1598, William Blaikie of Blainslie, Scotland in 1605, Jane Blokey at the town of Northallerton, also Yorkshire in 1695, and Robert Blaikie who in 1634 was confirmed as the heir to the barony of Coldingham, Scotland. Possibly the first recording in any spelling is that of Sarah Blakey, which was dated October 17th 1553, at the small town of Pateley Bridge, Nidderdale, Yorkshire. This was during the reign of King Edward V1th , known as 'The Boy King', 1547 - 1554. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.