Vernacularly, Gurans (Russian: Гураны) are people of Transbaikalia of local ancestry.[1] In modern times the term also refers to people of mixed ethnic ancestry in Transbaikalia resulted from marriages of Russians (mostly Transbaikal Siberian Cossacks) with indigenous people: Buryats, Evenks, Mongols, Daurs and Manchus. The term has reportedly been in used since 18th century.[2][3] Vernacularly, the term used to refer to a cossack hunter, later it was a nickname of Transbaikal cossacks.[1]
The word "gurohn" (гуро́хн) means "buck of Siberian roe deer" in Buryat language, borrowed into the local Russian vernacular as "guran".[1] It is suggested that the term as applied to the locals is derived from hats made of guran skin with antlers.[2][1]
Some researchers, such as Namzhil Tsybikov, consider gurans to be a new emerged ethnos, whose members have a specific culture and outlook.[3]
In modern times the term "gurans" is associated with all population of Transbaikalia of local ancestry and metonymically refers to Transbaikalia as a whole.[4]