In ancient Scotland, Cran was first used as a surname by the descendants of the Boernician tribe. It was a name for a person whose was tall, and had long legs. This nickname derived from the Old English words cranuc, and cornuc, which mean crane.
The surname Cran was first found in Suffolk, England, before the name made its way North to Scotland.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cran research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1398 is included under the topic Early Cran History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Scribes in the Middle Ages, and simply spelled according to sound. The result is an enormous number of spelling variations among names that evolved in that era. Cran has been spelled Crane, Craine, Crain, Cran, Crann, Crayne and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Cran Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Cran 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.
Most of the Boernician-Scottish families who came to North America settled on the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States and Canada. Families who wanted a new order stayed south in the War of Independence, while those who were still loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In the 20th century, the ancestors of these families have gone on to rediscover their heritage through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Cran or a variant listed above: