Show ContentsCronan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Cronan

What does the name Cronan mean?

The name Cronan has undergone many variations in the time that has passed since its genesis. In Gaelic it appeared as "O Croinin," which derives from the word "cron," which meant "brown" or "dark." 1

Early Origins of the Cronan family

The surname Cronan was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster.

Saint Crónán (died 640) was the abbot-bishop and patron of the diocese of Roscrea. His feasy day is April 28th. Mo Chua or Crónán mac Bécáin (died 637) was the founder of Balla, which later merged into that of Tuam, Ireland. Apparently the two were not related.

Temple Cronan is a ruined medieval chapel built near a holy well in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. It dates from the 12th century and may have been originally built to serve as a pagan temple. The building looks to have been renovated in the 15th century, but it is thought that this stone structure replaced a wooden structure that is thought to have been founded by Saint Cronan.

Early History of the Cronan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cronan research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1659 are included under the topic Early Cronan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cronan Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Cronan. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Cronin, Cronyn, Cronine, Croynin, Cronan, Cronnin, Cronnan, Cronnyn, Cronen, O'Cronin, Croynan and many more.

Early Notables of the Cronan family

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

Cronan Ranking

In the United States, the name Cronan is the 13,552nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


Cronan migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name Cronan, or one of its variants:

Cronan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Patrick Cronan, who landed in Maryland in 1833 3
  • John Cronan, who arrived in Maryland in 1836 3
  • Michael Cronan, who landed in Mississippi in 1844 3
  • Eugene Cronan, who settled in Philadelphia in 1849
  • Dennis Cronan, aged 42, who arrived in New York in 1864 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cronan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cronan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Margaret Cronan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1838

Cronan migration to Australia +

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

Cronan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Cronan, a mason, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Mr. Timothy Cronan, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
  • Mr. Michael Cronan, English convict who was convicted in Clerkenwell, London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 30th September 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 5
  • Thomas Cronan, aged 22, a baker, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Fitzjames"

Cronan 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:

Cronan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Michael Cronan, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Steinwarder" in 1864
  • Mary Cronan, aged 25, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Steinwarder" in 1864
  • Bridget Cronan, aged 3, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Steinwarder" in 1864
  • James Cronan, aged 1, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Steinwarder" in 1864
  • Mr. Daniel Cronan, (b. 1849), aged 25, Irish settler from County Kerry travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Cronan (post 1700) +

  • Earl Cronan (b. 1975), American former professional ice hockey player
  • Michael Patrick Cronan (1951-2013), American graphic designer, artist and a Fellow of the American Institute of Graphic Arts
  • Peter Joseph Cronan (b. 1955), former American football linebacker, Super Bowl Champion (XVII)
  • Thomas Francis "Tom" Cronan (1885-1962), American bronze medalist triple jump athlete at the 1906 Intercalated Games held in Athens, Greece
  • William "Willie" S. Cronan (1883-1959), American boatswain's mate serving in the United States Navy who was awarded the Medal of Honor for peacetime bravery in 1906
  • William Pigott Cronan (1879-1929), United States Navy Captain who served as the 19th Naval Governor of Guam in 1916
  • Phil Cronan (b. 1959), former Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and Footscray from 1984 and 1988

Halifax Explosion
  • Mrs. Eva  Cronan (1842-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 7
Pemberton Mill
  • Miss Joanna Cronan, factory worker in the Pemberton Mill on 10th January 1860 when the mill collapsed trapping 900 workers as rescue attempts continued into the night, an oil lantern was knocked over further engulfing the trapped workers in fire, she died


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
  6. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  7. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


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