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Oran History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Oran History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
England

Early Origins of the Oran family

The surname Oran was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat in their territories. The Pictish influence on Scottish history diminished after Kenneth Macalpine became King of all Scotland. But those east coast families still played an important role in government and were more accessible to Government than their western highland counterparts. Allegiances were important to Scottish middle age survival. Later they held a family seat in the parish Kennay and Henry Owrum was elected a councillor of Aberdeen in 1479.

The name is derived from Ormr, 'serpent,' a favorite Old Norse personal name. "Orm or Honn was sacerdos of Hume between 1153-1156. Orm filius Eilaf witnessed King David's great charter to Melrose Abbey, a. 1153. John, son of Orm, was one of the witnesses to Waldeve's charter of Dundas to Helias, son of Huctred, and is probably the John filius Horum who witnessed a charter by EsChina uxor Walteri. Orm was father of John, lord of Hunum (Hownam), c. 1164-1174, and William filius Orm witnessed a cherter by Dovenald, abbe de Brechin, c. 1204-1211." 1

Further to the south in England, John Orum (died 1436?) was an English churchman and academic. He was vice-chancellor of Oxford University, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple from 1400 to 1429.

Early History of the Oran family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oran research. Another 204 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1305, 1502, 1564, 1565, 1607, 1617, 1633, 1644, 1672, 1694, 1722, 1725 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Oran History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oran Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Orem, Orme, Orrem, Orum, Orun, Orumm, Oramm, Orunn, Orenn, Oren, Oram and many more.

Early Notables of the Oran family

More information is included under the topic Early Oran Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oran migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oran Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Oran, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 2

Oran Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Alexander Oran, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1771 2

Oran migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Oran Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Barbara Oran, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Moffatt" in 1839 3
Miss Maria Oran, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth and Henry" on 11th February 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4

Oran migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Oran Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Frederick Oran, South African settler travelling from Cape Town aboard the ship "Eveline" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 22nd January 1865 5
Mrs. Sarah Oran, South African settler travelling from Cape Town aboard the ship "Eveline" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 22nd January 1865 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Oran (post 1700) +

Oran Follett, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Genesee County, 1824 6
Oran Wendle Eagleson (1910-1997), American Callaway Professor of Psychology at Spelman College, Atlanta, the eighth black person in the United States to receive a doctorate in psychology
Oran Faville (1817-1872), American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa, 1858-60 7
Oran A. Moser, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Rocky Hill; Elected 1920 8
Oran A. Sorenson, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for South Dakota State House of Representatives 25th District, 2010 9

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MOFFATT 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Moffatt.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth-and-henry
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html