Coughlan - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Cochláin
Meaning: “hooded cloak”
Traditional stronghold: Offaly, Cork
Pronunciation: COCK-lin or COFF-lin; Irish Ó Cochláin: oh KOKH-law-in
History of the Coughlan name
Two distinct families produced this name, both drawing on cochall, meaning a cloak or hood. Mac Cochláin ruled Delvin Eathra, the district of Garrycastle in west Offaly along the Shannon, where they remained lords into the seventeenth century and left a landscape studded with their castles; Sir John Mac Coghlan, who died in 1590, was among the last great builders. Ó Cochláin, meanwhile, was a Cork sept of the Barrymore district, and it is from this family that most modern Coughlans descend, the name being today far more numerous in Cork than anywhere else. Both forms were anglicised variously as Coughlan, Coghlan and Coughlin.
Variants: Coghlan · Coughlin · Cohalan
Famous bearers of the name
- Mary Coughlan - Galway jazz and blues singer celebrated for her distinctive voice.
- Mary Coughlan - Donegal Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 2008 to 2011.
- Eamonn Coghlan - Dublin middle-distance runner, world 5000m champion in 1983 and indoor mile record holder, of the variant spelling.
- Nicola Coughlan - Galway actress known for Derry Girls and Bridgerton.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Daly · Dunne · Collins · Flynn · Healy