Heron (surname)

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Heron
Family name
2010-kabini-purple-heron.jpg
A heron
Meaning Nickname for a tall, thin man resembling a heron
Region of origin British Isles
Language(s) of origin English, Irish Gaelic
Related names Herron, Herroun and Hairon
Clan affiliations Clan Heron

Heron is a surname originating in England and Ireland during the Middle Ages.

Origin

This name is believed to have more than one origin. It is most commonly derived as nickname for a tall, thin man with long legs from Middle English heiroun/heyron itself coming from Old French hairon. The surname may also be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and an habitual name from Harome in North Yorkshire, meaning "(place of) the stone".[1]

In Ireland, this surname is often an Anglicised form of any one of three Irish Gaelic names: "O'hEarain", descendant of the feared one; "O'Huidhrin", descendant of the swarthy one; or "Mac GiollaChiarain", son of the servant of St. Ciaran.[2] The name Heron can also come from Ó Eachthighearna, which means "descendant of the horse lord".

An early recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Herun, which was dated 1150, in the "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire". [3]

Notable people with the surname


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References

  1. Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
  2. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/hairon
  3. http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/hairon