Irons
A surname most likely from a place-name, though some early writers also linked it to the personal name Hieronymus (Jerome).
The #4,804 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,961 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest older explanation treats Irons as a locational surname, probably from a place in Normandy such as Airan near Caen. Other 19th-century writers suggested a connection with the personal name Hieronymus, which also lies behind forms like Jerom and Jerome, but that view is less certain. The surname may also reflect later spelling variation around forms such as Iron, Hirons, and Irton-like local names.
History
The name is recorded in England by the 17th century, and forms like Iron and Irons appear in parish and marriage records. Because medieval spelling was very flexible, related-looking spellings such as Hirons were often grouped together by early surname scholars. The surname remains relatively uncommon in the modern United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some early surname books treated Irons and Hirons as variants of the same family name, which is why they often appear side by side in older indexes.
From the historical record
“Biron, Hirona, HloniB.- ? Bapt, ; V. Irons. MDB. (CO. Warwick), a, 3, i ; Oxford, ' HlTBt— Local ; v. Hurst.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances