Moran is a modern Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 and derived from membership of a medieval dynastic sept

Sept (social)

A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...

. The name means a descendent of Mórán, translated as Big One. Morans were a respected sept

Sept (social)

A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...

 of the Uí Fiachrach

Uí Fiachrach

The Uí Fiachrach were a dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the coicead or fifth of Connacht at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent from Fiachrae, an older half-brother of Niall Noigiallach or Niall of the Nine Hostages...

 dynasty

Dynasty

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 in the western counties of Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

 and Sligo. In Ireland, where the name descended from the Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

, it is generally pronounced (phonetically) "more-in", an anglicized approximate of the Irish pronunciation. Elsewhere, pronunciation follows the French surname, Morant, anglicized to (phonetically) "more-anne". There are many different crests of Moran, all bearing 3 stars and the motto Lucent in tenebris, Latin for "They shine in darkness" ".

The majority bearers of this surname in Co. Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

 are descended from the Ó Móráin sept whose ancient kingdom

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

 was in north Mayo, surrounding the modern town of Ballina

Ballina, County Mayo

Ballina is a large town in north County Mayo in Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountain range to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west...

. Following the Norman invasion

Norman Invasion of Ireland

The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...

 their territory was usurped by the Barretts and Burkes and the sept lost its central organisation. The modern distribution of the surname within Mayo suggests that the Morans spread southwards and today are chiefly found in the central area of the county, particularly in the barony of Carra

Carra, County Mayo

Carra is one of the nine baronies of County Mayo in Ireland, located in the mid-south area of the county. It is sometimes known as Burriscarra and on the map of Mayo baronies below it is the portion shown in grey in the south of the county....

.

There is also a small village in Monaghan named "Moran" meaning abode of "The Great One" the leader of the Celts.

People named Moran

• Adolfo Moran
  Adolfo Moran
  Adolfo Moran in Valladolid, Spain, architect 1975 University of NavarraHe was professor of architecture at University of Valladolid, in which he was Projects I chairman and at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Salamanca, titular of Architectonical Ideation Department and director of...
  
  , Spanish famous architect
• Bill Moran (disambiguation)
• Brad Moran, Canadian hockey player
• Brad Moran, Australian rules footballer
• Brendan Moran
  Brendan Moran
  Brendan Moran is an American television personality best known for his work as a co-host and field reporter on the G4 television program Attack of the Show!...
  
  , American television personality
• Bugs Moran
  Bugs Moran
  George Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs...
  
  , Chicago prohibition-era gangster
• Caitlin Moran
  Caitlin Moran
  Caitlin Moran is a British broadcaster, TV critic and columnist at The Times, where she writes three columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, a TV review column, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch"...
  
  , British journalist
• Charley Moran
  Charley Moran
  Charles Barthell Moran , nicknamed "Uncle Charley," was an American sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as a collegiate and professional football coach.-Early life:...
  
  , baseball player, football coach
• Chris Moran
  Chris Moran
  Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Hugh "Chris" Moran, KCB, OBE, MVO, ADC, FRAeS , was a fast jet pilot and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force...
  
  , Royal Air Force officer
• Chris Moran (ice hockey)
  Chris Moran (ice hockey)
  Chris Moran is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Texas Brahmas in the CHL.Prior to turning professional, Moran attended the Niagara University where he played four seasons with the Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey team which competed in NCAA's...
  
  , American ice hockey player
• Colin Moran
  Colin Moran
  Colin 'Collie' Moran was born on the 6 June 1980 was an inter county Dublin Gaelic footballer. He was captain of the Leinster Championship-winning Dublin teams in 2006 and 2007....
  
  , Dublin Gaelic footballer
• Crissy Moran
  Crissy Moran
  Crissy Moran is a retired American pornographic actress. She began working in adult entertainment in 1999, and between 2001 and 2006 had performed in over 40 adult films. In 2006, Moran became a devout Christian and quit working in the sex industry...
  
  , American former pornographic actress & model
• Daniel Keys Moran
  Daniel Keys Moran
  Daniel Keys Moran , also known by his initials DKM, is an American computer programmer and a science fiction writer.-Biography:Moran was born to Richard Joseph Moran and Marilynn Joyce Moran...
  
  , science fiction writer
• Denis Moran
  Denis Moran (Gaelic footballer)
  Denis 'Ogie' Moran is a retired Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He played football with his local club Beale, his divisional side Shannon Rangers and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1975 until 1987.-Biography:Denis 'Ogie' Moran was born in Ballybunion,...
  
  , Irish Gaelic footballer
• Dennis Moran, American computer hacker
• Dennis Moran
  Dennis Moran (rugby league)
  Dennis Moran, born 22 January 1977 is an Australian rugby league player.While attending Duval High School, Moran played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1995.Dennis Moran plays for the Leigh Centurions in National League One....
  
  , British rugby league footballer
• Diana Moran
  Diana Moran
  Diana Moran is a British model, fitness expert and journalist.In the 1960s and 1970s, Moran was a successful print and catwalk model. She also appeared as a TV announcer and newsreader for HTV West.-Career:...
  
  , British model
• Dylan Moran
  Dylan Moran
  Dylan Moran is an Irish stand-up comedian, writer, actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his sardonic observational comedy, the UK television sitcom Black Books , and his work with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead and Run Fatboy Run...
  
  , Irish comedian, star of Black Books
• Edward Moran
  Edward Moran
  Edward Moran was an American artist.He emigrated with his family to America at the age of 15, and subsequently settled in Philadelphia, where after having followed his fathers trade of weaver, he became a pupil of James Hamilton and Paul Weber...
  
  , American artist
• Edward C. Moran, Jr.
  Edward C. Moran, Jr.
  Edward Carleton Moran, Jr. was an American politician from Maine. Born in Rockland, Maine and a graduate of Bowdoin College, Moran was a veteran of World War I. A Democrat, he unsuccessfully ran for governor of Maine in 1928 and 1930. He was elected to two terms as a congressman from 1933 to 1937...
  
  , American politician
• Erin Moran
  Erin Moran
  Erin Marie Moran is an American actress, best known for the role of Joanie Cunningham on Happy Days and its spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi.-Early life:...
  
  , American actress
• Frank Moran
  Frank Moran
  Charles Francis "Frank" Moran was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25 year film career.-Sports career:...
  
  , Heavyweight boxer, actor
• Hap Moran
  Hap Moran
  Francis Dale "Hap" Moran was a collegiate and professional American football player. He played mainly at halfback for Carnegie Tech , Grinnell College , the Frankford Yellow Jackets , the Chicago Cardinals , the Pottsville Maroons , and the New York Giants...
  
   (Francis Dayle), professional football player
• Hugh Moran
  Hugh Moran
  Hugh Moran is a Manitoba businessman and politician.In 1975, Moran became president of By-Pass Ranch Ltd. The company has operated a ranching business, a top producing real estate brokerage, Canada Trust Moran Real Estate and one of Canada’s leading management companies, BPR Communications.Moran...
  
  , Manitoban politician
• Ian Moran
  Ian Moran
  Ian Patrick Moran is a professional ice hockey defenceman, who currently is a free agent.-Early years:Moran grew up in Acton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston...
  
  , professional hockey player
• Jack Legs Diamond, Born Jack Moran
• James Moran
  James Moran (writer)
  James Moran is a British screenwriter for television and film, who wrote the horror-comedy Severance. He works in the horror, comedy, science-fiction, historical fiction and spy thriller genres.-Breaking in:...
  
  , British screenwriter
• Jason Moran
  Jason Moran
  Jason Matthew Patrick Moran was an Australian criminal from Melbourne, Victoria, and one of the leaders of the Moran crime family, notable for its involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings. He sported a 12 cm scar on the side of his face.-Early life:Moran was the son of Lewis Moran and...
  
  , Australian criminal, 1967–2003
• Jason Moran
  Jason Moran (musician)
  Jason Moran is a jazz pianist and composer who debuted as a band leader with the 1999 album Soundtrack to Human Motion. Since then, he has garnered much critical acclaim and won a number of awards for his playing and compositional skills, which combine elements of stride piano, avant-garde jazz,...
  
  , jazz pianist
• Jerry Moran
  Jerry Moran
  Jerry Moran is the junior U.S. Senator from Kansas and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing ....
  
  , United States Representative from Kansas, b. 1954
• Jim Moran, American automotive entrepreneur/philanthropist
• Jim Moran
  Jim Moran
  James Patrick "Jim" Moran, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located in Northern Virginia and includes the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington County, and a portion of Fairfax County.Jim Moran was...
  
  , United States Representative from Virginia, b. 1945
• Jim Moran
  Jim Moran (publicist)
  James Sterling Moran was an imaginative publicist who was active as a press agent for various clients in a career that spanned five decades, from the 1930s to the 1980s...
  
  , publicist
• Joe Moran (social historian)
  Joe Moran (social historian)
  Joe Moran is a social and cultural historian who has written about everyday life, especially British everyday life from the mid-twentieth century until the present day....
  
  
• John Moran, American composer, b. 1965
• John Moran
  John Moran (cellist)
  John Moran is an American musician and musicologist. He specializes in historically informed performance of music from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries on the cello and viola da gamba. He studied cello and baroque cello at the Oberlin Conservatory, baroque cello at the Schola...
  
  , American musician and musicologist
• John E. Moran
  John E. Moran
  John E. Moran was an Captain in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in the Philippine-American War. He lived and is buried in Great Falls, Montana.-Medal of Honor citation:...
  
   (soldier), 1856–1930
• Judy Moran
  Judy Moran
  Judy Moran is the matriarch of the infamous Moran criminal family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Judy Moran was first married to Leslie John "Johnny" Cole, who was shot dead in Sydney drug-related gangland conflict in 1982...
  
   (mother)
• Julie Moran
  Julie Moran
  Julie Moran , America's Junior Miss 1980, was a correspondent on the entertainment news show Entertainment Tonight from 1994–2001. Before joining ET, she co-hosted NBA Inside Stuff with Ahmad Rashad and later replaced Frank Gifford as host of ABC's Wide World of Sports...
  
  , United States television personality
• Kenneth Moran
  Kenneth Moran
  Kenneth Noel Patrick Moran is a former New Zealand boxer.He won the bronze medal in the men's featherweight division at the 1938 British Empire Games.-References:...
  
  , New Zealand boxer
• Kevin Moran, Irish footballer, b. 1956
• Kevin Moran (hurler)
  Kevin Moran (hurler)
  Kevin Moran is a young Irish hurler who plays for both the Waterford Inter-county hurling team and the De La Salle GAA club.-Club:Kevin has played with his local club, De La Salle from underage upwards...
  
  
• Lewis Moran
  Lewis Moran
  Lewis Moran was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot dead in a Melbourne hotel The Brunswick Club in 2004...
  
  , Australian criminal, 1941–2004
• Lindsay Moran
  Lindsay Moran
  Lindsay Moran is a former clandestine officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. She is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today...
  
  , former Central Intelligence Agency
  Central Intelligence Agency
  The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
  
   officer
• Lois Moran
  Lois Moran
  Lois Moran was an American film actress.She was born Lois Darlington Dowlin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died in Sedona, Arizona.-Short career:...
  
  , American actress
• Lord Moran
  Lord Moran
  Charles McMoran Wilson, 1st Baron Moran, MC is most famous for being Sir Winston Churchill's personal physician....
  
  , Winston Churchill's physician
• Malcolm Moran
  Malcolm Moran
  Malcolm Moran is an American sportswriter who has written for four newspapers over 30 years – Newsday, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and USA Today...
  
  , American sportswriter
• Margaret Moran
  Margaret Moran
  Margaret Moran is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. She was the Member of Parliament for Luton South from 1997 to 2010....
  
  , British politician, b. 1955
• Maria Margarita Moran-Floirendo, former Miss Universe
• Mark Moran
  Mark Moran (criminal)
  Mark Anthony Moran was a criminal of the infamous Moran family from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, notable for its involvement in the illegal drug trade and the Melbourne gangland killings...
  
  , Australian criminal, 1964–2000
• Mayo Moran
  Mayo Moran
  Mayo Moran , a native of the Canadian province of British Columbia and daughter of author Bridget Moran and Pat Moran, has been Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto since January 1, 2006, the first ever female dean of the Faculty of Law. She replaced former dean Ronald J...
  
  , dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto
• Michael P. Moran
  Michael P. Moran
  Michael Peter Moran was an American actor and playwright.Moran was born in Yuba City, California, but his family moved frequently because his father was a US Army officer. While his family was living in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, he graduated from Passaic Valley Regional High School in Little Falls...
  
  , American actor and playwright
• Michelle Moran
  Michelle Moran
  Michelle Moran is an American novelist. She was born in California's San Fernando Valley. She took an interest in writing from an early age, purchasing Writer's Market and submitting her stories and novellas to publishers from the time she was twelve...
  
  , American author
• Mike Moran, English keyboard musician and producer, b. 1948
• Nancy Moran
  Nancy Moran
  Nancy Moran is an American folk-rock singer/songwriter, based in Nashville, Tennessee. She joined Four Bitchin' Babes in 2005. The group is currently on tour promoting the latest CD "Diva Nation....Where Music, Laughter & Girlfriends Reign!" ....
  
  , American singer/songwriter
• Nick Moran
  Nick Moran
  Nicholas James "Nick" Moran is an English actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Eddy the card shark in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels...
  
  , British actor, b. 1968
• Paddy Moran, Canadian hockey goaltender
• Pat Moran
  Pat Moran
  Patrick Joseph Moran was an American catcher and manager in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led two teams to their first-ever modern-era National League championships: the 1915 Philadelphia Phillies and the 1919 Cincinnati Reds...
  
  , American baseball player and manager, 1876–1924
• Pat Moran (statistician), 1917–1988
• Patrick Moran (disambiguation)
• Paul Moran (American soccer)
  Paul Moran (American soccer)
  Paul Moran is an American soccer player who currently plays for Rochester Thunder in the USL Premier Development League.-Youth and College:...
  
  , b.1983
• Paul Moran
  Paul Moran (photojournalist)
  Paul Moran , born as the youngest of four children in Adelaide, was a freelance photojournalist, the first media person killed in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq....
  
  , photojournalist, 1963–2003
• Paul Moran
  Paul Moran (English footballer)
  Paul Moran is a retired English football forward.-References:*...
  
  , English footballer, b. 1968
• Pauline Moran
  Pauline Moran
  Pauline Moran is an English actress known for her role as Miss Lemon in the British television series Agatha Christie's Poirot....
  
  , English actress
• Polly Moran
  Polly Moran
  Polly Moran was an American actress and comedian.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started out in vaudeville, and widely toured North America, as well as various other locations that included Europe and South Africa...
  
  , American actress and comedian
• Robert Moran
  Robert Moran
  Robert Moran is an American composer of operas and ballets as well as numerous orchestral, vocal, chamber and dance works.-Life:...
  
  , American composer , b. 1937
• Robert Moran
  Robert Moran (shipbuilder)
  Robert Moran was a prominent Seattle shipbuilder who served as the city's mayor from 1888 to 1890.A native of New York City, Moran was 18 when, in 1875, he arrived penniless in Seattle, a frontier outpost in the Pacific Northwest, which had been settled in November 1851, and only incorporated...
  
  , American shipbuilder, 1857–1943
• Rocky Moran
  Rocky Moran
  Rocky Moran, Sr. is a retired American race car driver. Moran, Sr. started three Indianapolis races with a best finish of 14th in 1989....
  
   (race car driver), b. 1950
• Roger Moran
  Roger Moran
  Roger Moran is a British hillclimb driver, who won the British Hillclimb Championship in 1997. In recent years he has shared a car with his son Scott.-References:...
  
  , British hillclimb driver
• Ronnie Moran
  Ronnie Moran
  Ronnie Moran is a former Liverpool captain and coach, who has twice served as caretaker manager...
  
  , British football coach
• Sam Moran
  Sam Moran
  Sam Moran is an Australian entertainer best known for being a member of the children's band The Wiggles. He was born in Sydney and raised in Wagga Wagga.-Career:...
  
   (entertainer), b. 1978
• Shawn Moran
  Shawn Moran
  Shawn Moran is a retired former professional speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers who also represented USA....
  
   (speedway rider), b. 1961
• Shlomo Moran
  Shlomo Moran
  Shlomo Moran is an Israeli computer scientist, the Bernard Elkin Chair in Computer Science at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.Moran received his Ph.D...
  
  , Israeli computer scientist
• Steve Moran
  Steve Moran
  Stephen James "Steve" Moran, was a pacy mobile striker who was one of the stars for Southampton during the mid 1980s. Moran was one of the finest strikers that Southampton has possessed...
  
  , English football player
• Terry Moran
  Terry Moran
  Terry Moran is the co-anchor of Nightline.-Biography:Moran was born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Lawrence University in 1982.-Professional career:-Career as Correspondent:...
  
  , television news correspondent
• Thomas Moran
  Thomas Moran
  Thomas Moran from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist...
  
   (1837–1926), artist of the Hudson River School
• Thomas Moran (author)
  Thomas Moran (author)
  Thomas Moran is an author whose novels include:*The Man in the Box *The World I Made for Her *Water, Carry Me...
  
  
• Thomas P. Moran
  Thomas P. Moran
  Thomas P. Moran is a Distinguished Engineer at the IBM Almaden Research Center near San Jose, California. He has been active in the field of human computer interaction for a long time. In 1983 the book he wrote along with Stuart Card and Allen Newell The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction...
  
  , engineer
• Tommy Moran
  Tommy Moran
  Thomas P. "Tommy" Moran was a leading member of the British Union of Fascists and a close associate of Oswald Mosley. Initially a miner, Moran later became a qualified engineer and also served in the Royal Navy, where he became a champion boxer in the Light heavyweight division.-Entry into...
  
  , British Fascist
• Tony Moran
  Tony Moran
  Anthony "Tony" Moran is a remixer/producer and DJ known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart with "Walk Away" featuring Kristine W.-Career:...
  
  , remixer/producer
• William L. Moran
  William L. Moran
  William Lambert Moran was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States.In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his B.A. in 1944. After this, he taught Latin and Greek in a high school in Cincinnati between 1946...
  
  , American Assyriologist
• William L. Moran
  William L. Moran
  William Lambert Moran was an American Assyriologist. He was born in Chicago, United States.In 1939, Moran joined the Jesuit order. He then attended Loyola University in Chicago, where he received his B.A. in 1944. After this, he taught Latin and Greek in a high school in Cincinnati between 1946...
  
  , Assyriologist (1921–2000)
• "Mr. Moran", alias used by Salvatore Gravano, underboss of the Gambino crime family

Fictional characters

• Jacques Moran, second narrator and seeker of the eponymous Molloy
  Molloy (novel)
  Molloy is a novel by Samuel Beckett. The English translation is by Beckett and Patrick Bowles.-Plot introduction:On first appearance the book concerns two different characters, both of whom have interior monologues in the book. As the story moves along the two characters are distinguished by name...
  
   in the novel by Samuel Beckett
• Lucy Moran, character in Twin Peaks
• Michael Moran, the central character in John McGahern's novel Amongst Women
  Amongst Women
  Amongst Women is a novel by the Irish author John McGahern . The novel tells the story of Michael Moran, a bitter, ageing Irish Republican Army veteran, and his tyranny over his wife and children, who both love and fear him. It is McGahern's best known novel and is considered his masterpiece...
  
  
• Moran, a female Irish Quidditch player in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Sebastian Moran
  Sebastian Moran
  Colonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes and the villain of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Empty House...
  
  , the villain from the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Adventure of the Empty House"
• Summer Moran, a recurring character in Clive Cussler's novels featuring Dirk Pitt
• Mullin Shetland, a character in the anime series Last Exile, whose original Japanese name is Moran Shetorando