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The Irish surname (O)Haran is an anglicized form of the Gaelic O'hEarain. The prefix "O" signifies "son of" or "descendant" and would indicate the patronymic origin of the surname while the second element of the name is derived from the Gaelic word "earadh" meaning "dread". This may have been applied to someone who was perhaps fierce in appearance or in combat. In early times, the main territory where the sept was located was Oriel which was comprised of the counties of Armagh, Monaghan and parts of south Down, Louth and Fermanagh. It appears that the name was most frequent in County Armagh.