There could be several possible Gaelic origins for this name, with "bheathain" (lively one) being one. Another possible origin for the name is the Gaelic Bàn ('Fair' / 'White' in English), which appears in the name of Scottish King Donald Bàn - the name could be a reference to the colour of his hair and/or the paleness of his face. Donald Bàn's epithet is often seen phonetically anglicised as "Bane" or "Bain". The first name 'Bean' is also found applied to men from other Clan Chattan families such as Clan Macpherson and Clan Shaw, and Clan MacGillivray. A third, but perhaps less likely origin of the name is the suggestion that the name originated from 'Beann' (otherwise 'beinn'), which means 'top'/'peak', as applied to the names of mountains such as Beinn a' Chaorainn in Lochaber and Britain's highest mountain Ben Nevis (Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis). If the name did arise from 'Beann' then one might assume it was a reference to the height of the person it was applied to.