Show ContentsGaran History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Garan family

The surname Garan was first found in Cambridgeshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held estates in that shire.

Early History of the Garan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garan research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1270, 1273, 1327, 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Garan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garan Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Gering, Gerring, Gerrin, Gerin, Gearing, Gearin, Geryn, Geryng and many more.

Early Notables of the Garan family

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

Migration of the Garan family

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Garan or a variant listed above: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..


Contemporary Notables of the name Garan (post 1700) +

  • Colonel Ronald John Garan Jr. (b. 1961), NASA astronaut with over 13 days in space 1


  1. NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2011, January 18) Ronald Garan. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/garan-rj.html


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