This interesting surname has a number of possible origins. Firstly, it may be from the Gaelic "ban" meaning white or fair and would have been a nickname for someone with fair hair or a pale complexion. One, Edwin Bayne alias Wuhyte, was recorded in Perth, Scotland in 1623. Secondly, it may derive from the Old English pre 7th Century "ban" meaning bone, which later became "bon" and survived as the nickname "Bones". William Banes, is noted in the Assize Court Rolls of Lancashire (1246). Thirdly, it may be from the Old French "bain" meaning bath and would have originated as an occupational surname for an attendant at the public baths. One, John de Bayns, appears in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1275. In the modern idiom, the surname has many variant spellings including Bain, Baine, Bains, Baynes, Bayns, etc.. The christening of John, son of Edward Banes, took place at St. Leonard's, Eastcheap, London on September 8th 1594. One of the earliest settlers in the New World was Martha Banes aged 20 yrs., who departed from the Port of London, aboard the "Defence" bound for New England, in July 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Serlo Baynes, which was dated 1219, Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry 111, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.