BLASE Family History

This unusual name is of medieval English origin, from the given name Blase or Blaze, which was derived ultimately from an old Roman family name, Blasius. The personal name was originally a byname or nickname for someone with a defect of speech or gait, from the Latin "blaesus", stammering, and the Greek "blalsos", bow-legged. The popularity of the 4th Century Christian martyr, St. Blaise, contributed to the spread of the personal name in the Middle Ages, particularly in England because St. Blaise was the patron saint of wool-workers, where the wool trade was so important.