Her(r)on, ó hEaráin
A Gaelic surname meaning descendant of Earadhán (diminutive of earadh meaning ‘fear, dread’. A sept of Oriel who were lords of Ui Breasail Macha, in the Barony of Oneilland in Armagh. Also a Scottish surname such a family had lands in Kirkcudbrightshire (barony of Heron), Mac Giolla Chearáin has been so anglicised. The English surname Heron is derived from the Old English and was a nickname for a thin man with long legs. In 1890 the surname was principally found in Antrim, Donegal and Down, and the estimated number of bearers was 2,020.