Show ContentsBaran History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Baran is an occupational surname, deriving from word for the title of a Baron. The surname Baran was also applied as a nickname to a person with a regal or dignified bearing reminiscent of a baron. The Gaelic form of the name Baran is Barún.

Early Origins of the Baran family

The surname Baran was first found in County Waterford (Irish: Port Láirge), anciently the Deise region, on the South coast of Ireland in the Province of Munster, where they were granted lands by Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, for their assistance on his invasion of Ireland.

Early History of the Baran family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baran research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1607, 1610, 1640, 1651 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Baran History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baran Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials often spelled the name Baran as it sounded to them. As a result, the name Baran, over the ages, has attained many spelling variations including Barron, Baron, Barone, Barrone and others.

Early Notables of the Baran family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Bonaventure Baron, O.F.M., (1610-1696), Irish Franciscan friar who was a noted theologian, philosopher, teacher and writer of Latin prose and verse; and his...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Baran Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baran Ranking

In the United States, the name Baran is the 5,465th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Baran is ranked the 5,328th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2


United States Baran migration to the United States +

In the mid-19th century, Ireland experienced one of the worst periods in its entire history. During this decade in order to ease the pressure of the soil, which was actually depleted by the effects of the previous years' grain crops, landowners forced tenant farmers and peasants onto tiny plots of land that barely provided the basic sustenance a family required. Conditions were worsened, though, by the population of the country, which was growing fast to roughly eight million. So when the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840s hit, starvation and diseases decimated the population. Thousands of Irish families left the country for British North America and the United States. The new immigrants were often accommodated either in the opening western frontiers or as cheap unskilled labor in the established centers. In early passenger and immigration lists there are many immigrants bearing the name Baran:

Baran Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Mary Baran, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 3
Baran Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Joaquin Baran, who arrived in New Orleans La in 1813 3
  • Jan Van Baran, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1847 3
  • Isaac Baran, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
  • A Baran, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1860 3
  • Julio Domingo Baran, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1887 3

Canada Baran migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Baran Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Pierre Baran, who landed in Montreal in 1653
Baran Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Andrew Baran, who landed in Quebec in 1897
  • Andrij Baran, who arrived in Quebec in 1897
  • Dmytro Baran, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1898
  • Kateryna Baran, who arrived in Canada in 1898
  • Michael Baran, who landed in Canada in 1898
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Baran (post 1700) +

  • Paul A. Baran (1909-1964), American economist
  • Paul Baran (1926-2011), one of the three inventors of packet-switched networks awarded a National Medal of Technology in 2007
  • Stanislaw Franciszek Baran, interwar Polish midfield soccer player
  • Nikhil Baran Sengupta (1943-2014), Hindi, Bengali, and Oriya art director, actor, painter and production designer


The Baran Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fortuna juvat audaces
Motto Translation: Fortune favours the brave


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  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)


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