The surname Bass is of English origin. It was a nickname for a short man, derved from the Middle English, Old French ‘bas(se), low, short ( Latin, ‘bassus’, thickset i. e. wide as opposed to tall, itself used as a name in England during the Republican period ). In the later Middle Ages the word was also used metaphorically to mean ‘of humble origin’, but apparently without contemptuous overtones, and in some cases this may have given rise to the surname. It may also be a nickname for someone who supposedly resembled a fish or metonymic occupational name for a fish seller, from ‘bass’ the fish ( Old English ‘boes’ ). To the Scots it is a habitational name from a place in the former county of Aberdeen, apparently so called from the Gaelic ‘bathais’, forehead, front. It is also a Jewish name of unknown origin. The name dates back to the eleventh century were a Aeliizia Bass is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America predominately by English immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this …
Coat of arms: Gules, on a chevron cottised argent, between three plates, each charged with a fleur-de-lis azure,…