McLoughlin
An Irish surname from a personal name meaning “descendant of Lochlann,” originally tied to the Norse world.
The #7,174 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,240 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McLoughlin is an Anglicized form of the Irish Mac Lochlainn, meaning “son of Lochlann” or more broadly “descendant of Lochlann.” The personal name Lochlann was long associated with the Norsemen or with Scandinavia, so the surname may originally have pointed to an ancestor connected with, or named for, that world. Later English spellings varied widely, including MacLoughlin, MacLoghlin, and McLaughlin.
History
The name is strongly associated with Ireland, especially in Ulster, where the Mac Lochlainn clan was historically prominent. In English records it often appears beside the more common spelling McLaughlin, and the forms have long been used interchangeably in some families. Nineteenth-century sources also note its presence in Irish-American records and censuses.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval bearer of the related clan name was Conchobar Mac Lochlainn, a king of Ailech in the 12th century.
From the historical record
“O'Hoghegan, Mageoghcgan, O'Melaghlin, MacLoughlin. It must be remembered that a surname of com- paratively rare occurrence in one district may be quite common in another, and vice versa, and that conse-”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames