Sloan
An Irish and Scottish surname that likely began as a nickname or clan-based form meaning “warrior” or “host.”
The #800 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,137 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical evidence links Sloan to Gaelic forms built on Irish sluagh, meaning “army” or “host.” In that tradition, the name has been explained as referring to a soldier or warrior, with later surnames formed from longer Gaelic spellings such as MacSluaghadhain and O’Sluaghain. A separate Scottish explanation also treats Sloan as a nickname from Scots sloan, used for a “covetous” or greedy person, so the surname may have more than one origin in different families.
History
The name is well established in Ireland and Scotland and later spread widely through migration to North America and other English-speaking countries. Early surname scholars often grouped Sloan with related forms such as Sloyan, Sloane, and Sloyne, reflecting Gaelic patronymic spellings and later anglicization. In Scotland, the surname may also have been influenced by the Scots nickname word sloan, which adds to the complexity of its history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers disagreed about whether Sloan was mainly a Gaelic “warrior” name or a Scots nickname surname, which is why it appears in more than one etymological family.
From the historical record
“Cp. Sleeper. SLOAN "1 (Celt.) Soldier, Warrior [Ir. SLOAN E J Sluaghan,Sluaghadhan(ia.ter,ns}iz\\y in the genit. with the 'son' prefix, as MacSluaghadhain); f. Ir. sluagh, army, host, with (in the case of the second form) the suff. -adh + the dim. suff. ■dn\”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)