O'Loughlin — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Lochlainn
Meaning: 'descendant of Lochlann' (Lochlann, meaning Scandinavia or a Viking)
Traditional stronghold: Clare
Pronunciation: oh-LOKH-lin; Irish O Lochlainn: oh LOKH-lin
History of the O'Loughlin name
O'Loughlin derives from O Lochlainn, a personal name meaning literally 'the Viking' or 'the Scandinavian', from Lochlann, the old Irish term for Scandinavia, reflecting the era of Norse contact and intermarriage in early medieval Ireland. The family were lords of the Burren in north County Clare, an area whose distinctive limestone landscape remains closely associated with their name, and separately an unrelated family of the same name held power in medieval Ulster among the Cenel Eoghain. The Clare O'Loughlins retained a leading position in the Burren into the later medieval period, and the surname remains strongly identified with Clare today, alongside notable numbers in Ulster.
Variants: Loughlin · O'Loughlan · Loklin
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Kennedy · Quinn · McDonnell · McMahon · Boland · Keane · Hogan