BLAKE
BLAKE has two different sources that contradict one another> It comes from two Old English words that sound the same but are spelt differently.
The Old English word blœc means black so it would be a nickname given to someone who was swarthy of skin or exceptionally black of hair. It would also have applied to someone who habitually wore black clothing.
On the other hand, blac means pale orfair and would have been given to someone who was very white of skin or perhaps had prematurely white hair.
The latter meaning may apply to the Scottish Blakes who are more likely to have been pale-skinned, whereas the British had been mixing with peoples from other countries for a long time by the 13th and 14th centuries.
You would have to know your ancestors to sort this one out.
Francis Blake arrived in Australia with the First Fleet aboard the Scarborough. (9) page 92.
Researching: Catherine Blake m. Joseph Askew – Wollongong 1897
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