Ronan

Rónán, anglicised as Ronan, is an Irish and Breton male given name and surname derived from rón, the Irish word for 'seal'. The given name dates back to Primitive Irish in the form ᚏᚑᚅᚐᚅᚅ  [ᚋᚐᚊ  ᚉᚑᚋᚑᚌᚐᚅᚅ] (RONANN [MAQ COMOGANN]), found as an ogham inscription which translates as 'Rónán, son of Comgán'. In Irish Mythology, the name is derived from a legend, which tells the story of a mother seal who is warned never to stray too closely to the land. When the seal is swept ashore by a huge wave, she becomes trapped in a human form, known as a "selkie" or "seal maiden". Although she lives as the wife of a fisherman and bears him children, known as "ronans" or "little seals", she never quite loses her "sea-longing". Eventually she finds the "seal-skin" which the fisherman has hidden and slips back into the ocean. However, she cannot forget her husband and children and can be seen swimming close to the shore, keeping a watchful and loving eye on them. The word rón is derived from several forms of the Irish language including rón beag 'harbour/common seal' and rón glas 'grey or green seal'. The name rón glas can be related to surnames like Green and Gleeson, because of the word glas meaning 'grey or green'. This gave origin to several surnames and personal names including Keary, Mac Fhearadhaigh and Henry. The use of surname as a Ronan originates from the anglicisation of the Irish surnames including Ó Rónáin (literally 'Descendant of Rónán'), Ó Ruanáin (literally ‘Descendant of Ruanán') and Ó Ruanadháin (literally Descendant of Ruanadháin).