Crone
A surname with several possible roots, most often treated as a nickname or as an Anglicized Irish family name.
The #6,162 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 55,580 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English, Crone can be a nickname from the word crone, originally meaning an old woman or, more generally, an aged person. In Irish sources, it is also treated as an Anglicized form of Gaelic names such as Cnóin or related forms, which points to a different, native Irish surname tradition. Because the historical sources mention the name in both English-language and Irish contexts, the surname may have more than one independent origin.
History
The name appears in British and Irish surname collections, with Woulfe listing it among Irish forms and Matheson noting it in an Ulster context. In English-speaking records it also shows up as a surname in North America and elsewhere, which is consistent with both English and Irish bearers carrying the same spelling. The result is a surname that may look unified today but can come from different family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same spelling can conceal different family histories: some Crone lines are Irish, while others likely began as an English nickname surname.
From the historical record
“Creery Crobeu Crone Crane Creath M A C”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom