How common is the surname Bain?

17,371 people in the United States had the surname Bain in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,774 Americans. It ranked 2,082nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Bain?

Barbara Bain, American actress, followed by Alexander Bain.

Where is the surname Bain most common?

Wikidata records people named Bain in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and The Bahamas.

Is the surname Bain getting more or less common?

More common. 16,845 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,371 in 2010, up 3.1%.

The surname Bain

A Scottish Gaelic surname, carried by 17,371 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex B500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Bain is more common than 98.7% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

* As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic bàn (“white, fair”), also found in McBain. * As an English surname, from Old English ban (“bone”). Also from bayn (“hospitable”), from Old Norse beinn (“straight”). * As a French surname, from Old French bain (“bath”), from Latin balneum. * As a German surname, spelling variant of Behn.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,371 people named Bain in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,774 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 16,845.

#2,082

rank among US surnames

17,371

people in 2010

5.9

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #1,965)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,073	Jeffers	17,455	17,688
#2,074	McCormack	17,449	17,694
#2,075	Mai	17,445	17,698
#2,076	Dumas	17,442	17,701
#2,077	Kenny	17,429	17,714
#2,078	Ceja	17,423	17,721
#2,079	O'Keefe	17,414	17,730

Who is named Bain

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Bain identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.1% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.1%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.0%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Bains

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Barbara Bain
American actress, born 1931
Alexander Bain
British clockmaker, 1810–1877
Andretti Bain
Bahamian sprinter, born 1985
Mary Bain
American chess player (1904–1972)
Edgar Bain
American metallurgist (1891–1971)
Robin Bain
American actress, writer and director, born 1980
George Grantham Bain
American photographer and journalist (1865–1944)

Notable Bains come mostly from the United States (5), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1) and The Bahamas (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Bain

Bain has the Soundex code B500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B500.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Bain come from?: * As a Scottish surname, from Scottish Gaelic bàn (“white, fair”), also found in McBain. * As an English surname, from Old English ban (“bone”). Also from bayn (“hospitable”), from Old Norse beinn (“straight”). * As a French surname, from Old French bain (“bath”), from Latin balneum. * As a German…
How common is the surname Bain?: 17,371 people in the United States had the surname Bain in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,774 Americans. It ranked 2,082nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Bain?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Bain identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.1% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Bain?: Barbara Bain, American actress, followed by Alexander Bain.
Where is the surname Bain most common?: Wikidata records people named Bain in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and The Bahamas.
Is the surname Bain getting more or less common?: More common. 16,845 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,371 in 2010, up 3.1%.