Lamont

luh-MONT or LAY-mont

A Scottish Highland clan name, probably meaning “son of Lamond,” with older roots that may ultimately be Norse or Gaelic.

The #5,114 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,105 Americans shares it.

🔗 Compare with another name ✨ Add a first name

Etymology

The name is commonly explained as a clan surname from Gaelic Mac Lamont, meaning “son of Lamont” or “son of Lamond.” Older writers also connected Lamond/Lamont with a personal name that may be related to Old Norse or Gaelic forms, but the exact first element is uncertain. In some sources it is treated as a Scottish family name centered in Argyll, especially in the area of Lamont.

History

The Lamonts were an old Highland family of Argyll, and the surname is strongly associated with Clan Lamont. Historical references show the name in Scotland by the medieval period, and later spellings were often simplified from Mac Lamont to Lamont. The name also appears in Ireland, where it may reflect Scottish settlement or parallel surname development.

Origin

patronymic or matronymicScottish GaelicNorseIrish

Regions

ScotlandArgyllIrish countiesIreland

Variant spellings

Mac LamontMacClymontLamondLamontLamon

Fun fact

One 19th-century source specifically notes the Lamonts of Lamont, Argyll, as a family recorded from the 11th century.

From the historical record

“MAC CLURE for Mac Lure, q.v. MAC CLYMONT, for Mac Lamont, Son of Lamont or Lamond : v. Lamond. MAcgoLLJf-MaoCa„,q.v. , r§SS:;iLl(C^'-^5H«^e.equivof”

— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)

Related surnames

Confidence: mixed. Sources: Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1), Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom, British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.), Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland, Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (numerical strength, derivation, distribution).

← Search another surname