I have yet to see any definitive proof on the origin and meaning of the Farrant surname, but have heard two theories regarding the arrival of the Farrants in England which seem plausible.

1- That the Farrants were a family of Huguenots, a Calvinist Protestant order in France. As Protestants, they were of course at odds with the Roman Catholic church, and it is possible that some of them left France for England before 1589 to escape prosecution. But 1589 brought the reign of King Henri IV, a Protestant, and with the Edict of Nantes in 1598 the Huguenots obtained a degree of toleration.

In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked and many of the Huguenots fled the country, it would have most likely been at this time that Huguenot Farrants settled in England.

2- That the Farrants were a Norman family that either arrived with William the Conquerer when he vanquished Britain or shortly thereafter. The history of my own family in England pre-dates the Huguenot migration and so tends towards this theory.

My Great Great Grand Aunt researched the name in Devon while she still lived there, and the earliest reference she was able to find was a John Farrant in 1588 whose post mortem inquisition of his property indicates that he was a relatively well to do man. The earliest variant of the name was Nicholas Feraunt in 1273, a Sheriffs Juror in the Hundred of Cliston.

In the south of England where William had his strongest foothold, many families of influence were allowed to keep their positions of power to a great extent after the conquest in exchange for their loyalty to William, never the less, in 1273 a position of power such as a Sheriffs Juror would almost certainly have only been given to a man of Norman background. Even in the 1500's a person like John Farrant would likely have obtained his wealth and title as landowner through inheritance from a family whose background was quite possibly Norman.

As to the meaning of the name all seem to agree with it's reference to iron in the French fer, but there are differing views on whether it has do with someone who works with iron or someone who is iron (grey) haired.

So, it sounds likely that the Farrants came from France, possibly in two or more migrations, one as Norman conquerors, and another as persecuted Huguenots seeking refuge from the Catholics.

And to speculate further, if the original French Farrants were from Normandy, then it's quite likely they were originally Norsemen. Ay, that could be Viking blood causing the reddish blonde glow in my beard.