Contents [hide]

Crean History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Crean History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name Crean has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. The original Gaelic form of the name Crean is Ó Croidheagain, from the word "croidhe," which means "heart." 1

Early Origins of the Crean family

The surname Crean was first found in Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Crean family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crean research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1616 is included under the topic Early Crean History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crean Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Crean that are preserved in archival documents are Cregan, Crean, O'Crean, O'Cryan, Creaghan, Creegan, Creahan, Crehan, Creane and many more.

Early Notables of the Crean family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Father Daniel O'Crean (d. c. 1616), of Holy Cross in Sligo

Crean migration to the United States +

Ireland became inhospitable for many native Irish families in the 19th centuries. Poverty, lack of opportunities, high rents, and discrimination forced thousands to leave the island for North America. The largest exodus of Irish settlers occurred with the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. For these immigrants the journey to British North America and the United States was long and dangerous and many did not live to see the shores of those new lands. Those who did make it were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world. These Irish immigrants were not only important for peopling the new settlements and cities, they also provided the manpower needed for the many industrial and agricultural projects so essential to these growing nations. Immigration and passenger lists have documented the arrival of various people bearing the name Crean to North America:

Crean Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Crean, aged 32, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Thomas Crean, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1851 2
Phillip Crean who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860

Crean migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Crean Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Bessy Crean, aged 13, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Britannia" from Sligo, Ireland
Catherine Crean, aged 11, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Britannia" from Sligo, Ireland

Crean migration to Australia +

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

Crean Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Crean, (Crane, Crayon, Craine), (b. 1797), aged 23, Irish labourer who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1833 3
Kate Crean, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "Lady Ann"

Crean 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:

Crean Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Bedilia Crean, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir George Pollock" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand in January 1863 4
John Crean, aged 49, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Edinburgh" in 1873
Elizabeth Crean, aged 31, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Edinburgh" in 1873
Jane Crean, aged 9, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Edinburgh" in 1873
John Crean, aged 7, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Edinburgh" in 1873
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Crean (post 1700) +

Kelly Crean (b. 1974), American actress
Arthur B. Crean, Master Sergeant in the United States Army during World War I
Johnnie R. Crean, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 43rd District, 1982 5
John J. Crean, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1940, 1952; Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey 1st District, 1950 5
Harry E. Crean, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1956 5
Major Dr. Thomas Joseph Crean VC DSO (1873-1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and physician; during the war he was awarded the Victoria Cross and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, later he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
Eugene Crean (1854-1939), Irish nationalist politician and MP
Thomas "Tom" Crean (1877-1938), known as the "Irish Giant", Irish Antarctic explorer, member of the Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton expeditions
Simon Findlay Crean (1949-2023), Australian politician and trade unionist, Leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003, Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia
Edward O'Donovan Crean, English rugby union player
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Crean 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: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus
Motto Translation: Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html