Hello everyone - One of my early ancestors was a Mary O'Draine/Adrian from Co. Antrim in Ireland. She died between 1762 and 1768 in (then) Frederick, Virginia, (now) Hampshire Co., West Virginia. Her husband was Alexander Chesnut, also of Co. Antrim. She has probably thousands of descendants living today -- most people with the Chesnut/Chestnut surname on their family tree can claim her as their ancestor. As she is the earliest ancestor on this line for which I have information, I have begun researching her surname and its variants for any clues that might help me in researching her parents etc. I will post here what I have found -- it will be of help mostly to those whose Adrians were from Ireland. Please note that where you see a "/" after a letter it means there should be an accent mark of this shape over that letter. >From More Irish Families, by Edward MacLysaght: ADRAIN, O'Drean ADRIAN The old Irish surname O/'Drea/in, first anglicized O'Drean and O'Dreyne, became Adrain when the English language was widely introduced into Ulster after the seventeenth century Plantation, and in due course this in turn was usually shortened to Drain or Drean, or sometimes changed to Adrian; Adrian is normally of entirely different origin, being derived from the Latin Adrianus or Hadrianus. Adrain has for centuries been regarded as an Ulster name, but it originated in Co. Roscommon, where the O'Dreanes were chiefs of Calry and erenaghs of Ardcarne in the barony of Boyle until dispossessed by the MacDermotts. The last mention of them as such in the Annals is for the year 1241. By 1659 they were so well established in east Ulster that we find a townland in Co. Down in Petty's 'census' called Ballydraine (i.e. Ballydrain in the parish of Tullynakill). Several families of the name, written in the Hearth Money Rolls of the 1660's as O'Drean and Adreane, were living in Co. Down and south Antrim at that time. The best known man of the name was Robert Adrain (1775-1843), who was born at Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim: he was a noted mathematician in America, whither he had escaped after taking part and being wounded in the Insurrection of 1798. >From another book, whose title I have forgotten: Adrian - v. Adryan, Adrien, Adrain, Drain, Drean Some of the name of Adrian etc. may actually be of the old Irish family of O'Drean. Subequently the name may be found as Drean and Drain. This Irish family was found anciently in Roscommon, where they served as chiefs of Calry. Note the place name of Ballydrain near Tullynahill. Additionally, the name spelled as "Adryan" in the 17th century is found in Co. Dublin. This family name is traditionally linked to the province of Ulster. >From Irish Names and Surnames, by Patrick Woulfe: O/ DREA/IN O Dreane, Adrien, Adrian, Drain, Draine; 'des. of drea/n' (wren). The O'Dreains were anciently chiefs of Calraidhe in Co. Roscommon, and erenaghs of Ardcarne, near Boyle, but were dispossessed in the 13th or 14th century by the MacDermotts. They appear to have removed to Co. Antrim, which is the only place where the name was found in the 16th century. And from The Surnames of Ireland, by Edward MacLysaght: Adrain _O/ Drea/in_. Woulfe's derivation from drea/n, wren, is improbable. There is an older word drenn, which has several meanings including rough and firm. The name is sometimes shortened to Drain. This erenagh family was originally of Co. Roscommon but later under pressure from the MacDermots, settled in Ulster. And now a few notes on all this: Erenagh is apparently an Irish word referring to a "steward" of church lands, that is someone given charge of them. I think this was a title of nobility. The MacDermotts were (and still are) one of the principal clans or families of Co. Roscommon. It would seem that most people who have "Adrain" ancestors from Ireland are descended from the ancient family of O'Dreain; those whose ancestors' surname is only known to be "Adrian" may or may not be of this origin, as some Adrians in Northern Ireland were Anglo-Irish "settlers" during the Plantation as mentioned above. Also, some of the surname Adrain from Ulster crossed over to Scotland at some point and, changing their name to Drain, MacDrain or O'Drain, became a sept of Clan Donald in Kintyre. Another sept in this clan were the Hawthorn(e)s, and it has been suggested that some Adrains changed their name to Hawthorn(e) in a sort of pseudo-translation, as the Gaelic word "droighean" meant hawthorn. Finally, as you all have probably found, when doing genealogical research, it's a good idea to check common variants if you can't find the surname you're looking for in an index etc. So, for those who think they may be connected to the O'Dreains of antiquity, here are all known variants (in Ireland) of the surname that I have seen: (O) Drean(e), (O) Drain(e), (O) Drane, (O) Drehan(e), (O) Dreyne, Drehin, Adrain, Adreane, Adryan, Adrien, and Adrian.