The Herron surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 26,559 people carried this name — #1,328 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,100 people counted. That is up 3% from 25,776 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Herron surname

As an English surname, spelling variant of Heron

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Herron» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the heron’.

An early record he cites: Ricardus Herun, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Heron and Herron.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 377 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 45 births for the Herron name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling Heron.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 38
Leinster 5
Connacht 1
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Herron was recorded 14 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1484th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 22. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Herron in American newspapers,
1905–1919.

Newspaper page from River Falls Journal carrying the name Herron
River Falls Journal 1905-10-19
Newspaper page from The Ogden Standard carrying the name Herron
The Ogden Standard 1919-08-23
Newspaper page from The Chattanooga News carrying the name Herron
The Chattanooga News 1919-01-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 101,235 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Herron in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

18,879 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Herron. The most, 6,315, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,353
Queensland 2,587
Western Australia 1,827
Victoria 1,769
Tasmania 766
South Australia 292
ACT (Canberra) 231
Northern Territory 12

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Herron.

Who carried it

People named Herron,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Francis J. Herron
    Francis J. Herron 1837–1902 · military officer
  • John Herron
    John Herron 1853–1936 · politician
  • Helen Herron Taft
    Helen Herron Taft 1861–1943 · politician
  • George Davis Herron
    George Davis Herron 1862–1925 · writer
  • Carrie Rand Herron
    Carrie Rand Herron 1867–1914 · philanthropist
  • Alan Herron d. 2014 · basketball player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Herron,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,755 records

1,755 records of the Herron name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 785
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 388
  • Other U.S. records 582
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Theodore W. Herron

    Born 1911 in Illinois. Enlisted 1940 at East St Louis; driver from Madison County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Johanna Herron

    Arrived at New York in 1893 aboard the Amsterdam from Boulogne and Rotterdam, aged 40; laborer. From Danzig, Germany; bound for Milwaukee.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Paul E. Herron

    Born 1931; from Wise County, Virginia. U.S. Army, pioneer; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,755 records for Herron in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia287 records

287 records of the Herron name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 114
  • Tasmanian Names Index 68
  • Other Australian records 105
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Herron

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cadet, sailing from Plymouth in 1848. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elizabeth Ann Herron

    Born 1864 in Port Sorell, Tasmania. Married 1884 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 19.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Saml Herron

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Mermaid, aged 21; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 287 records for Herron in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada97 records

97 records of the Herron name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 36
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 25
  • Other Canadian records 36
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Abraham Herron

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Ranger, bound for Port Mattoon, aged 4.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm Herron

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Quebec, landing at Halifax, bound for Stonebridge, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Fredrick Harold Herron

    Buried in 1979 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 73.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 97 records for Herron in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

New Zealand23 records

23 records of the Herron name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 18
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 3
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Gunning Herron

    Died 1914, aged 78; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dennis Victor Herron

    Died 1970, aged 18; buried at Seddon Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record J. Herron

    New Zealand Entrenching Battalion. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 23 records for Herron in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Herron name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 9
  • Stirling Council burial records 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Archibald Herron

    Buried in 1937 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 72.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Herron

    Buried in 1812 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 51.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Herron

    Northamptonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Herron in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France5 records

5 records of the Herron name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie Louise Herron

    Born 1910 in Golbey; died 1978 in Golbey (Vosges).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Leontine Aline Herron

    Born 1909 in Golbey; died 1974 in Vittel (Vosges).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marie Anne Herron

    Born 1906 in Bouchemaine (Maine-et-Loire); died 1982 in Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Herron in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Germany3 records

3 records of the Herron name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Josef Herron

    From Neu Klentsch, Berent. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 30 October 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 73).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Herron in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Herron name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Margaret Vennetta Herron

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1890 in Sanesville.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Herron in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Herron.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Herron.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Herron is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Herron volume
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