Recorded as Holleran, Hollerin, Holleron and others this is an Irish surname. It originates from the ancient Gaelic O'hAllmhurain, meaning "the male descendant of the pirate" and probably a reference to a Viking, because another meaning is a foreigner or stranger from overseas. There are two distinct septs of this name one located in Clare and the other in Galway, where their present day descendants are numerous. The county Galway sept, whose slogan was "Clan Fearghaile abu", were chiefs of Clann Fearghaile an extensive territory near Lough Corrib. They were the original proprietors of the lands on the western boundaries of Galway City and retained a leading position in Iar-Connacht to the end of the 16th Century, for they appear in the "Composition Book of Connacht" in 1585. The Clare sept were located in Ogonnelloe, on the shores of Lough Derg and spread southwards into county Limerick. This sept produced Sylvester O'Halloran S.J. (1718-1800) Professor of Philsophy at Bordeaux. Prudence Holleran married Richardus Moris at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster on April 9th 1646. In Ireland, At St. John's, Limerick, Edward Halloran Married Elinor Connine on February 14th 1708. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Halloram, who married Prudence Vertue, which was dated October 8th 1641, at St. margaret's, Westminster, London, during the reign of King Charles 1, "The Martyr", 1625 - 1649. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.