Mild, gentle, smooth. So a descriptive surname rather than one referring to place origin. Not surprisingly, Blands aren't especially noted in Britain for concentrating in just one place. It may well be a surname that arose spontaneously in different districts.
Bland is English in origin, except in cases where the spelling was changed dramatically by American immigration officials in the 1800s; they often did this when encountering seemingly unusual eastern European names.
There are many Bland lineages in the United States. Some Blands came before the American Revolution and have a quite distinguished pedigree and relations (read here and here); others are much harder to trace their origins.
There is a DNA project inviting males with the surname Bland world wide to participate. Idea is to see how the different lineages all link up (or not, as the case may be).
Among the most distinguished Blands in Britain was General Humphrey Bland (1686-1763), who led the 13th Light Dragoons in 1741, governed Gibraltar 1749-1752, and wrote treatises on military tactics in the Age of Enlightenment.
Bland is English in origin, except in cases where the spelling was changed dramatically by American immigration officials in the 1800s; they often did this when encountering seemingly unusual eastern European names.
There are many Bland lineages in the United States. Some Blands came before the American Revolution and have a quite distinguished pedigree and relations (read here and here); others are much harder to trace their origins.
There is a DNA project inviting males with the surname Bland world wide to participate. Idea is to see how the different lineages all link up (or not, as the case may be).
Among the most distinguished Blands in Britain was General Humphrey Bland (1686-1763), who led the 13th Light Dragoons in 1741, governed Gibraltar 1749-1752, and wrote treatises on military tactics in the Age of Enlightenment.