Baron Family History

French English Dutch Polish Czech Romanian and Croatian; Breton (also Le Baron): from Old French barun baron Middle English barun baroun Middle Dutch baroen Polish Czech Romanian and dialectal Croatian baron ‘baron’ (i.e. a nobleman ranking below an earl and above a knight) a title of nobility which was in England also awarded to certain freemen of the cities of London and York and of the Cinque Ports. As a surname it is unlikely to be a status name denoting a person of rank. Generally it referred to service in a baronial household or was acquired as a nickname by a peasant who had ideas above his station or applied to a man showing characteristics of a nobleman. See also 3 and 4 below compare Barron and Lebaron . French: habitational name from (Le) Baron the name of several places in various parts of France. Compare Lebaron . German: status name for a freeman or baron from barūn ‘imperial or church official’ a loanword in Middle High German from Old French (see 1 above). Spanish (Barón): nickname from the title barón ‘baron’ applied as a nickname or as an occupational name for a member of the household of a baron (see 1 above); or from an old personal name of the same origin in the sense ‘free man’ (compare 3 above). Italian (Veneto): variant of Barone . Czech (also Baroň): from a pet form of the personal name Bartoloměj (see Bartholomew ).7: Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bearáin (see Barnes ).8: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): artificial name meaning ‘baron’ from German Polish or Russian (see 1 above). In Israel the surname is often interpreted by folk etymology as being from Bar-On ‘son of strength’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022