TORRANCE, a surname derived from lands in the parish of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, formerly in possession of the Hamiltons, but afterwards belonging to a family of the name of Stuart. The Gaelic word Torran, the diminutive of Tor, a mount or hill, is said to have been the origin of the name, having been taken from a mound of earth, called the Tor, situated about a quarter of a mile from the house of Torrance.