McVrone

This is a very rare and unusual Gaelic surname. It is so rare that it is not recorded at all in MacLysaghts famous dictionary of Irish Surnames, generally considered to be the definitive listing of all such names, or in Black's equally definitive surnames of Scotland. Neither does it apparently appear in the Famine List of 1846 - 1851, when over one million recordings were made in both the British Isles, it was not just Ieland that was badly effected, and the various 'welcoming' ports of America and Canada. This suggests that the surname is a relatively recent creation, and is a transposition from another name, thus showng that surnames are continuing in their development all the time. In fact whilst we cannot find any suitable close examples in Ireland, we have found a few in Scotland. These include: Isabella McVorann of Gorballs, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, on January 27th 1818, and later James McVorran, who although the spelling is different, may have been related, and whose son also called James, was christened at Glasgow, on March 3rd 1822. We believe that the surname is a variant of McCrone, the modern 'v' being a simple clerical error. The McCrones were a popular clan in Galloway and Lanark, and long held an association with the outlawed Clan MacGregor, and their name means 'The son of the swarthy or dark one', from the ancient pre 10th century Gaelic 'Mac Cron'.