McLoughlin
Mac Lochlainn · son of Lochlann
McLoughlin is Mac Lochlainn in Irish, said mak LUKH-lin, and means son of Lochlann.
Lochlann is the old Irish word for Scandinavia, so the name means son of the Viking. A northern branch of the Uí Néill who held the high kingship twice.
How it changes
- A man: Mac Lochlainn
- His daughter: Nic Lochlainn
- A woman who married into it: Bean Mhic Lochlainn
- The family together: Mhic Lochlainn
Where it comes from
Donegal and Derry
Also spelt
McLoughlin, MacLoughlin, Loughlin, McLaughlin
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.