Heron_(surname)

Heron (surname)

Heron (surname)

Surname list

Heron (/hɛrən/) is a surname originating in the British Isles and Normandy during the Middle Ages.

Quick Facts Language(s), Origin ...

Origin

This name is believed to have more than one origin. In England, 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. It could also have designated a person who hunted birds, including herons. The surname may also be an habitual name; of Old English origin from Harome in North Yorkshire or Norman origin from Le Héron, near Rouen.[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".[2] The name became prominent on the Anglo-Scottish border as a clan of border reivers operating between the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century.[3] Today, in the United Kingdom the surname is most commonly found in County Down, Tyne and Wear, Surrey and Lancashire.[4]

Notable people with the surname

This page lists people with the surname Heron.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

References

  1. [1]
    Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
  2. [2]
    "Surname Database: Hairon Last Name Origin".
  3. [3]
    Robert Borland, Border Raids and Reivers, T. Fraser, 1898
  4. [4]
    "Heron : The surname Heron - sofeminine". Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
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