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). This is a title of nobility that was also awarded in England to certain freemen of the cities of London and York and 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, 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 it can be 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). Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Bearáin (see Barnes). Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): an 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’.