Meaning: Its source is an English expression meaning "Clergyman."

Narrative: It was originally a surname, the descendant of two converging sources. One source identified those descended from a member of the minor clergy belonging to a cannonical community. (Sometimes it was associated with a lay family whose pious demeanor suggested such the behavior of a cannon or priest.)

Also, it had a Gaelic source -- the personal name Canan, meaning ''Wolf cub.''