Blew

This rare and unusual surname has two possible origins; firstly, it may be of Scottish origin, a patronymic of the name Blue, itself an Anglicized form of the Gaelic "Macghilleghuirm" meaning son of the blue lad. It is an Argyllshire surname formerly current in Arran, and was found particularly around the parish of Knapdale. Secondly, it may be a nickname for a habitual wearer of blue clothes, or for someone with blue eyes, deriving from the Old French "bleu" meaning blue. The suffix "s" denotes "son of". The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below). Variations in the spelling of the surname include Blewes and Blewis. Church Records list the christening of Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Blewis on July 5th 1764 at the Lying-in Hospital, Endell Street, London, and the marriage of James Blues to Jessie Robertson on November 28th 1847 in Edinburgh, and the christening of their daughter Jessie on January 5th 1856 in Edinburgh. One Pat Blue, aged 30 yrs., a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool aboard the "Independence", bound for New York, on July 14th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter le Bleu, which was dated circa 1200, in the "Close Rolls of the Tower of London", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.