This name is the Huguenot equivalent of the English "irons", although perhaps it is more accurate to say that both Irons and Hierons are developed forms of the ancient French "harenas". The name in both cases being habitational or possibly occasionally job descriptive for one who lived or worked by or on "the sands". There is no real association with "Iron" (the metal) except possibly that "sand" is used in the casting of iron, but this seems a far fetched etymology. As a surname "Irons" is recorded in London in 1582 but Hierons and its variants of Hyrons (1781) and Hirons (1784) are nearly two hundred years later and towards the end of the Huguenot period. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Hierons, which was dated July 30th 1756, married at Matthew Plant at St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, London, during the reign of King George 11, known as "The Last Soldier Monarch, 1727 - 1760. 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.