McGrane Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McGrane Family History

McGrane Family History

The family history of the ancient name McGrane was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name McGrane include Greaney, McGranny, Granny and Grane. This name in Irish is O'Grainne and Mag Raighne and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of these Gaelic names. This sept came from Munster.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

A very early record of the name can be found in the 'Justiciary Rolls' in the year 1313 in the person of Rawenyld O'Grayne who was acquitted by a jury in County Cork. In Connacht families of the name are often called MacGraney and it is in that Province that a Rory MacGraney of Tullylish, County Down is recorded. He was a Jacobite and was outlawed after the Battle of the Bon in 1690. The form Granny is found in Donegal, mainly Inishowen and adjacent parts of County Derry. As McGran the name appears in the Hearth Money Rolls for County Tyrone in 1664. A Fiant dated 1559 records a pardon to a Johanne MacGrane of the Shepe Grange, County Louth.The McGrane family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including McGrane descendants.