Origin of the Name Morrin
The origin of the name
Morrin was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Morrin
include O'Moran, McMoran, Morren, Moren, Moran and several others. These names are anglicized forms of the Gaelic O'Morain and O'Moghrain septs belonging to the Counties of Mayo, Galway , Roscommon and Leitrim, where the two septs held their territory.
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. Irish septs and clans that are related often belong to even larger groups, sometimes called tribes.
When Gaelic names were anglicized during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were often changed to Anglo equivalents that sounded most like their original Gaelic name. Families of this name in County Leitrim also changed their name to Morahan and Morrin especially. O'Morain was Chief of County Mayo and resided near Ballina. O'Moghrain was Chief of Griffon in County Galway and another was Chief of Ballintober, County Roscommon. It is in these areas that the families of these names are most numerous in modern times. Distinguished bearers of these names include General James O'Moran, 1739-1794, of Dillon's Irish regiment in the army of France , who was guillotined, and Cardinal Patrick Moran, 1870-1936, of Australia, who was author of 'The Life of Blessed Oliver Plunkett'. Morrin and Morin can also be of Huguenot origin in Ulster Province.
The Morrin coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Morrin descendants.