Heron (surname)
 A heron | |
| Language(s) | English, Irish Gaelic |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Nickname for a tall, thin man resembling a heron |
| Region of origin | British Isles |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Herron, Herroun and Hairon |
Heron is a surname originating in England and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
Origin
This name is believed to have more than one origin. It is most commonly derived as nickname for a tall, thin man with long legs from Middle English heiroun/heyron itself coming from Old French hairon. The surname may also be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and an habitual name from Harome in North Yorkshire, meaning "(place of) the stone".[1]
In Ireland, this surname is often an Anglicised form of any one of three Irish Gaelic names: "O'hEarain", descendant of the feared one; "O'Huidhrin", descendant of the swarthy one; or "Mac GiollaChiarain", son of the servant of St. Ciaran.[2] The name Heron can also come from Ó Eachthighearna, which means "descendant of the horse lord".
An early recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Herun, which was dated 1150, in the "Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire". [3]
Notable people with the surname
- Brian Heron (born 1948), Scottish footballer
- Edward Heron-Allen (1861–1943), English writer, scientist and Persian scholar
- Francis Heron (1853–1914), English footballer
- Francis Arthur Heron (1864–1940), English entomologist
- George Heron (1919-2011), President of the Seneca Nation of Indians
- Gil Scott-Heron (1949–2011), American poet and civil rights activist
- Giles Heron (1504-1540), English politician
- Hubert Heron (1852–1914), English footballer
- Sir John Heron (1470–1522), English courtier during reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII
- John Heron (born 1928), social scientist
- John Heron-Maxwell (1836–1899), Scottish Liberal politician
- Martin Wilkes Heron (1850–1920), bartender and creator of Southern Comfort
- Mary Heron (fl. 1786-1792), English writer
- Matilda Heron (1830–1877), popular Irish-American actress
- Mike Heron (born 1942), Scottish musician and composer
- Patrick Heron (died 1761), Scottish politician, MP for Kirkcudbright Stewartry 1727–41
- Patrick Heron (1736–1803), Scottish politician and banker, MP for Kirkcudbright Stewartry 1795–1803
- Patrick Heron (1920–1999), St Ives, Cornwall, painter
- Sir Richard Heron, 1st Baronet (1726–1805), Chief Secretary for Ireland
- Sir Robert Heron, 2nd Baronet (1765–1854), British Whig politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby 1812–18 and Peterborough 1819–47
- Robert Heron (1764–1807), Scottish writer
- Samuel Dalziel Heron, (S.D. Heron) (1893-1965), aero engineer
- Susanna Heron, (born 1949), British artist who works primarily between drawing, sculpture, scale and movement
- William Stewart Herron, (1870-1939), Canadian, first to strike oil in Alberta, in Turner Valley
- William Stewart Herron Jr., (1908-1989), Canadian, began the association of the white Stetson hat with the Calgary Stampede, and Canadian oilman
- Sir William Heron of Northumberland, ?
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References
- ^ Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
- ^ http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/hairon
- ^ http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/hairon