| ![Show Contents]() Rawn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The illustrious surname Rawn is classified as a habitation surname, which was originally derived from a place-name, and is one form of surname belonging to a broader group called hereditary surnames. Habitation names were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Topographic names, form the other broad category of surnames that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.
Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. Rawn is a place-name from in Rouen, the capital of Normandy. The surname was derived from the Viscountcy of Rohan, in Brittany, in France. As a local name, it could also have been derived from the local at the rowan which referred to a residence beside a rowan-tree. Habitation names were derived from the name of the town, village or hamlet where the person originally lived. Early Origins of the Rawn familyThe surname Rawn was first found in Durham where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Early History of the Rawn familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rawn research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1366, 1393, 1618, 1639, 1692 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Rawn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rawn Spelling VariationsSince the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules, Breton surnames have many spelling variations. Latin and French, which were the official court languages, were also influential on the spelling of surnames. The spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. Therefore, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England after the Norman Conquest, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. The name has been spelled Roan, Rohan, Roohan, Rome, Rowan and others. Early Notables of the Rawn familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was William Rougham (died 1393), the second master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge. He had been a fellow of the college since the 1350s...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rawn Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Rawn family to Ireland
Some of the Rawn family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 112 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Rawn migration to the United States | + |
Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Rawn, or a variant listed above:
Rawn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Casper Rawn, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 1
| Contemporary Notables of the name Rawn (post 1700) | + |
- William Rawn, American founder of William Rawn Associates, and architect firm in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983
- Ira Griffith Rawn (1855-1910), American railroad executive from Delaware, Ohio, General Manager of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1904 to 1907, Vice President of Illinois Central Railroad from 1907 to 1909
- Melanie Rawn (b. 1954), American three-time Locus Award nominated author of fantasy literature
- Marion Rawn, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 2004 2
- Suzi Rawn (b. 1982), Canadian recording artist and was the fourth-place finisher in Canadian Idol season 3
- Francis Rawn Shunk (1788-1848), American politician from Trappe, Pennsylvania, 10th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1845 to 1848
- Francis Rawn Shunk (1788-1848), American politician, Secretary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1839-42; Governor of Pennsylvania, 1845-48 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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Rawn migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
