England, Scotland
The surname of Crane is of both English and Scottish origin, and derives from an Anglo-Saxon nickname given to a tall thin man, or someone who has long, thin legs--who is said to have resembled a bird.
The first recorded spelling of the surname Crane is recorded as Osbert Crane in the year 1177, and found in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire, under the reign of King Henry II, who was also known as "The Builder of Churches" and ruled from the year 1154 to the year 1189. Those who bear the surname Crane in England most often reside in the counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Leicestershire, Middlesex, and the city of London. Other mentions of this surname of Crane include Jordan Crane, who was named in the Curia Rolls of Essex in the year 1219, William le Crane, who was named in the Feet of Fines of Essex in the year 1235, and Thomas le Cran, who was named in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in the year 1243. One man named William Crane served as the water-bailiff for both the town and harbor of Dartmouth, Devon, from the year 1509 to the year 1510. William Crane also was the controller of the tonnage and poundage in customs in the Port of London in the year 1514. Another man named Sir Frances Crane was the secretary to Charles I, who was the Prince of Wales. Sir Frances Crane was rumored to have created three baronets in the year 1619.
In Scotland, those who bear the surname of Crane are often found in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire. Lanarkshire County is said to have the highest population of people who bear this surname in all of Scotland.
During the European Migration, many English immigrants left their homeland in search of a new and prosperous life. A rather large number of these immigrants landed in the United States of America and settled in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, New York, and Maine. The first person of these English citizens who was recorded as bearing the surname of Crane was a man named Richard Crane. Richard Crane was thirty-two years of age when he embarked on the journey from London aboard the "Thomas" in the year 1635, and settled in this New World state of Virginia.