From Mac Lochlainn, ‘son of the Norseman’ — once rivals of the O'Neills for the kingship of all Ulster.
Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘Norseman’
McLoughlin comes from Lochlann, the Gaelic name for Scandinavia, making this literally ‘son of the Norseman’. Based in Inishowen, the Mac Lochlainn were, for a time in the twelfth century, genuine rivals to the O'Neills for the High Kingship of Ulster and even all Ireland.
A name that remembers the Vikings not as raiders but as ancestors — claimed proudly, not apologised for.
Irish form: Mac Lochlainn
