Crane Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Crane Origin:

England, Scotland

Origins of Name:

The surname of Crane is of both English and Scottish origin, and derives from an Anglo-Saxon nickname given to a tall thin man, or someone who has long, thing legs—who is said to have resembled a bird. This nickname stems from the Old English words “cran,” “cranuc,” “cron,” “cronuc,” “cren,” and “crenuc,” which all mean crane, but later came to include a heron.

Variations:

More common variations are:

Cran, Crann, Craine, Craney, Creane, Cranie, Crayne, Carane, Corane, Craane, Cranne, Chrane

History:

England:

The first recorded spelling of the surname Crane is recorded as Osbert Crane in the year 1177, and found in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire, under the reign of King Henry II, who was also known as “The Builder of Churches” and ruled from the year 1154 to the year 1189. Those who bear the surname Crane in England most often reside in the counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Leicestershire, Middlesex, and the city of London. Other mentions of this surname of Crane include Jordan Crane, who was named in the Curia Rolls of Essex in the year 1219, William le Crane, who was named in the Feet of Fines of Essex in the year 1235, and Thomas le Cran, who was named in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in the year 1243. One man named William Crane served as the water-bailiff for both the town and harbor of Dartmouth, Devon, from the year 1509 to the year 1510. William Crane also was the controller of the tonnage and poundage in customs in the Port of London in the year 1514. Another man named Sir Frances Crane was the secretary to Charles I, who was the Prince of Wales. Sir Frances Crane was rumored to have created three baronets in the year 1619.

Scotland:

In Scotland, those who bear the surname of Crane are often found in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire. Lanarkshire County is said to have the highest population of people who bear this surname in all of Scotland.

United States:

During the European Migration, many English immigrants left their homeland in search of a new and prosperous life. A rather large number of these immigrants landed in the United States of America and settled in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, New York, and Maine. The first person of these English citizens who was recorded as bearing the surname of Crane was a man named Richard Crane. Richard Crane was thirty-two years of age when he embarked on the journey from London aboard the “Thomas” in the year 1635, and settled in this New World state of Virginia.

Australia:

In the 19th century, many European citizens emigrated to Australia in search of work, and a better life for their families. The first group of people to embark on this journey with the recorded surname of Crane was a family who landed in Adelaide, Australia. Samuel Crane, who was twenty-five years of age, Louisa Crane, who was twenty-four years of age, Daniel Crane, who was twenty-three years of age, Elizabeth Crane, who was twenty-one years of age, and Mary Crane, who was five years of age, all sailed aboard the ship named the “Isabella Watson” in the year 1845.

Germany

The German variation of the name would be Kranich and Krahn.

Netherlands

The name is found in the Netherlands as the surname Krane.

Crane Today:

United States 46,688

England 9,803

Australia 4,493

Canada 3,832

South Africa 1,023

Scotland 630

Wales 610

France 551

New Zealand 409

Colombia 367

Notable People:

David Crane (born in 1957) who is an American producer and writer

Harold Hart Crane (1899-1932) who was an American poet, and writer of the well-known poem “The Bridge”

Robert Kellogg Crane (1919-2010) who was a biochemist from America, who is credited with the innovation of sodium-glucose cotransport, and was the recipient of the Dr. Harold Lamport Award from the New York Academy of Sciences in the year 1977

Brigadier-General William Carey Crane (1891-1978) who was a Commanding General in the Artillery IV Corps from the year 1944 to the year 1945, and was from America

Major-Genera John Alden Crane (1885-1951) who was the former Chief of American Section in the Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria from 1944 to the year 1945, and was from America

A. Harry Crane, who was a Delegate to the Republican Convention from Kansas in 1944, served as the Kansas Republican State Chair 1945, and was an American Republican politician

A. Peter Crane, who was the Representative from Utah in the 2nd District in 1992, was also an American politician

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Camborne, co. Cornwall). Ar. a crane sa. standing on a staff raguly in base vert.
2) (Clerk of the Kitchen to King James I.; granted 1606). Gu. on a fesse betw. three crosses pattee or, as many annulets az. Crest—A demi hind or, ducally gorged az.
3) (Suffolk). (Chilton, co. Suffolk, extinct bart. 1643). Ar. a fesse betw. three (sometimes, six) crosses crosslet fitchee gu. Crest—A crane ppr.
4) Gu. on a fesse betw. three crosses pattee fitchee or, a crane az. endorsed by two annulets of the last.
5) (borne by Francis Crane, of Mortlake, co. Surrey, who m. Mary, dau. and coheir of David Le Maire, ol London. Visit. London, 1568). Per bend or and az.