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FORAN Family History

This is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic (Irish) name 'O'Fuarthain, O'Fuarain', meaning 'descendant of Fuar(th)an', a personal name believed to be derived from the Gaelic 'fuar', cold. The name was first Anglicized as O'Forhane and Forahan, these forms being used mostly in County Kerry and West Cork. The modern surname Foran is found most frequently in County Limerick and County Waterford, and it is recorded in some parts of Leinster in the 16th Century. Two of the most well-known bearers of the name were Lawrence Foran, an 18th Century scribe in County Waterford who compiled the 'Book of Portlaw' in 1780, and the Most Reverend Nicholas Foran, who was Bishop of Waterford and Lismore from 1837 to 1855.