Show ContentsOren History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Oren family

The surname Oren 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 Oren family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oren 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 Oren History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oren 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 Oren family

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

Oren Ranking

In the United States, the name Oren is the 15,718th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


United States Oren migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oren Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Anne J. Oren, aged 21, who immigrated to the United States, in 1892
  • J. Oren, aged 52, who landed in America from New Cumberland, in 1892
  • John P Oren, aged 21, who settled in America, in 1892
  • John Oren, aged 5, who immigrated to the United States, in 1893
  • A. Oren, aged 37, who immigrated to America, in 1893
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Oren Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Margareth Oren, aged 30, who immigrated to the United States, in 1907
  • Anna Oren, who landed in America, in 1909

Contemporary Notables of the name Oren (post 1700) +

  • Michael B. Oren (b. 1955), American-born Israeli historian and author
  • Alonzo Oren Sparks, American Republican politician, Candidate for Missouri State House of Representatives from Jackson County 1st District, 1938 3
  • Robert Oren Trout (1904-1995), American sociologist
  • Justus Oren Eakin (1883-1958), American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at New Martinsville, West Virginia, 1934-46 4
  • Oren Claude Frood (1889-1943), Canadian professional ice hockey left winger (1906-1916)
  • Oren Lavie (b. 1976), Israeli songwriter, author, theatre and video director
  • Oren Stone (1833-1897), American politician, Mayor of Flint, Michigan, 1888-89 5
  • Oren J. Teicher, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 20th District, 1984; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1988, 1996
  • Oren Root, American Republican politician, Candidate for borough President of Manhattan, New York, 1949 6
  • Oren Jacoby, American director and producer of documentary films


  1. 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)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Alonzo Sparks. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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