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Origin of the Name "Bailey"
There are many ways of spelling this
name; Bailie, Baillie, Baily, Baly, Bayley, just to mention a few.
The Bailey or Bailiff was a man of great importance and was paid
accordingly by his master. Where a shepherd earned 4 shillings per annum
and a ploughman 8 shillings, the Bailey would receive six pounds.
He lived in the Manor House at the Lord's expense and was responsible
for the administration and supervision of the general agricultural
policy. The term Bailey, now obsolete in England, is still common
in Scotland where it is used as Chief magistrate or Sheriff. In
the 14th Century, Dionisy-eri-la-Baillye owned shops and houses at the
Old Bailey. The name BAILEY may be derived from more than one
source. One of these is the old French "Bailli" originally meaning
"carrier" but later "administrator". Early records mention Roger
Le Baylly who appears in Surfolk Pipe Rolls of 1230. The MOTTO for
BAILEY is "LIBERTY" (LIBERTAS).
Bailey/Baillie Surname Origin
Baillie, Bayley, Baley, Baly, Baily, Bellie & other spelling variations
all appear to stem from the old French-Norman word baillis for
administrator, official or steward which in turn goes back to the latin
word balivus with a similar meaning. Persons who took that surname were
non-royal Mayors, Judges, leaders of troops, constables etc. The first
known was, Brithwin Brucellus, the village leader of Battle Abbey, named
for the Abbey built by William the Conqueror to celebrate the Battle of
Hastings in 1066.
The spelling of Bayley became common in England as well The family of
the author's Mother used the Bayley spelling in West Riding Yorkshire
but two sons of that line, James &Richard of Rowley, Essex County, MA
used the Bailey spelling in the mid 1630s.
The bailey is also the inner courtyard of a Norman motte & bailey
castle. The motte being a mound on which the keep was built & the bailey
an inner courtyard wheret he peasant's housing & workshops were
situated. The person in charge of the inner court yard and/or of the
laird's troops was called a bailey. The Celt word forvillage was baile,
bally in Ireland, which likely have the same Norman origins. It is
believed that most, if not all, Baillies took their names from the
occupation of their ancester as did their English Bailey "cousins". Old
Parish records contain the names of many Baillies whose unlettered
ancestors allowed Parish clerks misspell their name as Bellie or Belly.
This was the case for the author's great grandfather & several of his
children including the author's grandfather although previous
generations used Baillie.
One version of the Scots Baillie surname origin purports that, during
the reign of King Edward the first, a young bailey of Staffordshire
killed his Lord in a dispute turned into a deadly duel. The victor was
said to flee across the border into Scotland & took the name Baillie.
Legend has it that Sir William Baliol changed the name of his son Sir
William to Baillie in order to escape the "tender mercies" of the
English King after King John Baliol of Scotland was defeated by the
English, deposed to languish in the Tower of London. Most Baliol lands
were forfeit.
Another associated "legend" has it that the wife of Sir William Baliol
was the illegitimate daughter of Sir William Wallace (Braveheart) &
Marian Braidfute. The son of Sir William Baliol was said to be Sir
William Baillie of Hoprig who, according to many historians, was the
first Baillie whose name appears in known records. The first appearance
was as a juror in a 1311 (or 1312) inquest regarding forfeit lands in
Lothian. In 1315 he was a witness to a charter by John de Graham, Lord
of Albecorn. He was knighted in 1357 & received a royal charter to the
Barony of Lamington (sometimes called Lambiston).
The Bailies of Ireland were said to originate when a son of the
Lamington, Lanarkshire line emigrated & dropped an "L" in the spelling
of his name. During the reign of Queen Victoria, Mr. Baillie Cochran an
MP (Member of Parliament) for the Isle of Wight took it on himself to
revitalize the village of Lamington, over a fifty year period from 1838.
The Episcopal Chapel, "Holy Trinity", was part of that building process.
Lamington is often called the "Home of the Baillies". In recent years
the Biggar Museum Trust, Moat Park, Biggar, ML12 6DT, started a campaign
to renovate the "Holy Trinity" & an 800+ year old church, Saint Ninians
on whose grounds many generations of Baillies were buried.
Thanks to Frank Baillie 1693 Rooseveit Ave SE. Port Orchard, WA 98366
for this great article.
References: 1, 3 & 4 WERE available via Barnes & Noble
(1) Collins "Scottish Clans & Families Encyclopedia" by George Way ISBN
0-00-470547-5
(2) "The Bailey Family" by the American Genealogical Research
Institute of Arlington, VA" 1972 ISBN unknown (Xerox copy help by Donna
Beers & author of Baillie surnames above)
(3) "The Surnames of Scotland" by George Black ISBN 1-874744-07-6
(4) "Scotland & Her Tartans" by Alexander Fulton ISBN 0-8317-7717-6
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