Herron
Usually a nickname surname from the heron bird, though in some Irish families it is an anglicized form of an older Gaelic name.
The #1,328 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,625 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Herron is commonly explained as a nickname from the bird name heron, used in the same way as surnames like Crane or Hawk. The spelling with -rr- reflects historical variation rather than a different root. In Irish contexts, the surname may also represent an anglicized form of Gaelic names that were later written as Herron, Hearon, or Heron in English records.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern English records in several spellings, including Heron and Herron. In Ireland, the surname is well established in Ulster, where nineteenth-century surname distributions show concentrations in counties such as Antrim, Donegal, and Down. As with many surnames, separate English and Irish lines may have converged on the same modern spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often grouped Herron with other bird-based names, treating it as one of a whole flock of nicknames drawn from the natural world.
From the historical record
“1, 16, 3. Q Heron, Herron.— Nick. ' the hervn'; cf. Crane, Stork, Hawk, &c. For early examples, v. Heam (a). Rieardm Henin, 1379: P. T. Vorts.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances