Naughton
An Irish and Scottish surname, often a shortened or anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Neachtain, linked to a personal name meaning “pure.”
The #6,448 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,652 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Naughton is usually explained as an anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Neachtain, meaning “son of Neachtan.” The personal name Neachtan is commonly connected with the old Gaelic word for “pure” or “clean,” ultimately related to the same Indo-European root seen in words for washing or cleansing. Some older writers also treated similar spellings as if they were influenced by place-names, but the Gaelic patronymic explanation is the standard one.
History
The surname appears in both Irish and Scottish records in forms such as M’Naughton, M’Neachtain, Naughten, and Naughton. In Ireland, the name is especially associated with Connacht in older records and also appears in Kerry and Limerick in later surname surveys. In Scotland, the Mac Naughtons were a noted Highland clan name, and the surname has long been familiar there in anglicized spellings.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gaelic personal name is sometimes linked by scholars to the ancient Pictish name Nectan, showing how old and layered this surname’s history may be.
From the historical record
“1616 NAUGHTON. Behane. 352. Connaughton. Knockton. [Nicholl]. 489. Nichols. 409. 1649 254. O'Caugrhan. 19.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland