The Picts were the ancient Scottish tribe where the ancestors of the Bean family lived.
The name Bean comes from the Gaelic word Beathan or betha which means ‘life’.
Bean was also the name of a saint in the Breviary of Aberdeen.
Before the first dictionaries appeared in the last few hundred years, scribes spelled according to sound and spelling variations are common among Scottish names. Bean has been spelled Bean, Beane, Beyn, Bayn, Bene, Bane, Baine, Beine, Bayne, Beyne, Been, Beaine, MacBain, MacBean, MacVain, MacBean, MacVan and many more.
First found in Inverness-shire, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Early passenger and immigration lists reveal many Scottish settlers in America bearing the name bean:
Alexander Bean who settled in Georgia in 1775;
Duncan Bean who settled in Jamaica in 1716;
Alexander Bain who settled in Maryland in 1774;
John Baine settled in south Carolina in 1716.
Motto: ‘Touch not the catt bot a targe’, Translated: ‘Touch not the cat without a shield’.