Curran - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Corráin
Meaning: “spear, dagger”
Traditional stronghold: Waterford, Donegal
Pronunciation: KURR-un; Irish Ó Corráin: oh kur-AW-in
History of the Curran name
Ó Corráin, sometimes Ó Currain, is one of the more widespread Gaelic surnames, with distinct septs arising in several provinces: in south Leinster around Waterford and Tipperary, in Donegal and Leitrim in the north-west, and in Kerry and Galway. Its very ubiquity means no single territorial homeland can be claimed, though the name has been especially associated with Waterford and with Ulster. Its most celebrated bearers belong to one Dublin family: John Philpot Curran, the greatest advocate of his age and defender of the United Irishmen, and his daughter Sarah, the tragic fiancée of Robert Emmet, remembered in Thomas Moore's song She is Far from the Land.
Variants: Currin · Curreen · O'Curran
Famous bearers of the name
- John Philpot Curran - Celebrated orator and barrister who defended the leaders of the United Irishmen.
- Sarah Curran - Fiancée of Robert Emmet, immortalised in song after his execution in 1803.
- C. P. Curran - Dublin lawyer and man of letters, lifelong friend and memoirist of James Joyce.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Walsh · Gallagher · Boyle · Doherty · Sweeney · Power · Whelan · O'Donnell