Craon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

Etymology of Craon

What does the name Craon mean?

The noble name Craon was first used by the Boernicians, an ancient Scottish tribe. It is a name for a person whose was tall, and had long legs. This nickname derived from the Old English words cranuc, and cornuc, which mean crane.

Early Origins of the Craon family

The surname Craon was first found in Suffolk, England, before the name made its way North to Scotland.

"In 1261 an inquest found that a man named Crane had held, by gift of King William the Lion, the lands of Inyaney and the office of gate-keeper of the royal castle, and that he never raised an army or gave assistance or did anything else in the world for the said lands, except gate-keeper of our lord the king's castle of Montrose. Cran and Crann are current in the shires of Aberdeen, Banff, and Inverness, and Patrick Crane is recorded in Aberdeen in 1398. Crane is the spelling used by an old family in the parish of Maryton." 1

Early History of the Craon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Craon research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1398 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Craon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Craon Spelling Variations

Before the first dictionaries and printing presses went into use in the last few hundred years, spelling, particularly of names, was a largely intuitive matter. Consequently, many spelling variations occur in even the simplest names from the Middle Ages. Craon has been spelled Crane, Craine, Crain, Cran, Crann, Crayne and others.

Early Notables of the Craon family

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

Migration of the Craon family to Ireland

Some of the Craon family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Craon family

The east coasts of the United States and Canada are still populated by many of the descendents of the Boernician-Scottish families who made that great crossing. They distributed themselves evenly when they first arrived, but at the time of the War of Independence those who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. This century, many of their ancestors have recovered their past heritage through highland games and other Scottish functions in North America. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that many immigrants bearing the name Craon or a variant listed above: Jasper Crane, a passenger on the "Hector," who settled in the New Haven, Colony in 1637; Richard Crane, who arrived in Virginia in 1635; Samuel Crane, who came to Virginia in 1653.

Sources +

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)