Crane History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  Scotland 
  Ireland 


The ancestors of the name Crane lived among the Boernician tribes of the ancient Scottish-English border region. The name derives from a nickname 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 Crane family

The surname Crane 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 Crane family

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

Crane Spelling Variations

Since medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, and since there were no consistent rules for the translation of rules from Gaelic to English, spelling variations are extremely common in Boernician names of this vintage. Crane has been spelled Crane, Craine, Crain, Cran, Crann, Crayne and others.

Early Notables of the Crane family

Notable among the family at this time was

Crane World Ranking

In the United States, the name Crane is the 843rd most popular surname with an estimated 34,818 people with that name. 2 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Crane is ranked the 191st most popular surname with an estimated 216 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Crane is the 627th popular surname with an estimated 6,218 people with that name. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Crane as 709th with 9,469 people. 5

Migration of the Crane family to Ireland

Some of the Crane family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 63 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Crane migration to the United States +

Many of the Boernician-Scottish families who crossed the Atlantic settled along the eastern seaboard in communities that would become the backbone of the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. In the War of Independence, American families that remained loyal to the Crown moved north into Canada and became known as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestral culture of all of these proud Scottish families remains alive in North America in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Crane or a variant listed above:

Crane Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Crane Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Crane Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Crane migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Crane Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Crane Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Crane migration to Australia +

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

Crane Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Crane 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:

Crane Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Crane (post 1700) +
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