Cran History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

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.

Early Origins of the Cran family

The surname Cran was first found in Suffolk, England, before the name made its way North to Scotland.

Early History of the Cran family

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.

Cran Spelling Variations

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.

Early Notables of the Cran family (pre 1700)

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

Migration of the Cran family to Ireland

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.

Cran migration to the United States +

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:

Cran Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Abraham Cran, who settled in America in 1724
Hans Jerick Cran, who settled in Philadelphia in 1738
Mary Cran, who arrived in America in 1756
Frances Cran, who arrived in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1766

Cran Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Cran, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 ^[1]
G Cran, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 ^[1]
S K Cran, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 ^[1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Cran (post 1700) +

Chris Cran (b. 1949), Canadian visual artist from Ocean Falls, British Columbia, inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2002
James Douglas Cran (b. 1944), British former Conservative Party politician, Member of Parliament for Beverley (1987-1997) and Beverley and Holderness (1997-2005)

Citations +

^ 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)