MacLachlan Surname

71,910th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 6,861 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

MacLachlan Surname Definition:

Gaelic MacLachlainn, 'son of Lachlann,' which see. In Irish record is entry under 1060 'Lochlainn Mac Lochlainn' (AFM.). In 1292 the lands of Gileskel Mclachlan and others in Lorn were erected into the sheriffdom of Lorn (APS., I, p. 91).

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MacLachlan Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,6721:216,78221,093
Canada1,3451:27,3943,640
Scotland1,1971:4,473777
England9291:59,9767,130
Australia6711:40,2325,196
South Africa5151:105,19912,720
New Zealand2491:18,1863,184
Argentina871:491,30436,372
Ireland361:130,8046,280
Wales301:103,1518,167
Thailand151:4,709,223352,754
United Arab Emirates121:763,52325,625
Germany111:7,318,678235,042
France101:6,642,272293,169
Zimbabwe91:1,715,36084,476
Sweden81:1,230,84590,587
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
Jersey81:12,4002,398
Venezuela51:6,040,81547,898
Brazil41:53,518,583632,670
Switzerland41:2,053,22997,179
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Philippines41:25,309,556279,062
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Azerbaijan21:4,824,56142,415
China21:683,660,78330,601
Russia21:72,061,528727,117
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Saint Kitts and Nevis11:55,1991,294
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland291:152,7548,150
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States71:7,174,098302,835

MacLachlan (17) may also be a first name.

MacLachlan Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Gaelic MacLachlainn, 'son of Lachlann,' which see. In Irish record is entry under 1060 'Lochlainn Mac Lochlainn' (AFM.). In 1292 the lands of Gileskel Mclachlan and others in Lorn were erected into the sheriffdom of Lorn (APS., I, p. 91). Gillaspy MacLachlan was present at the parliament held at St. Andrews, 16 March 1308. His name occurs on the seal tag but not in the body of the document. It however may have occurred in the document where it is imperfect, causing a gap in the text (ibid., p. 99). There is an entry in 1327 of payment for maintenance of the son of Reginald son of Lauchlan (ER., I, p. 63). Richard Louchlani (Latin gen.) was custumar of Stirling, 1328, and in the following year he appears as Ricardus filius Lochlane, sheriff of Stirling (ibid., p. 86,179). Some time before 1425 Celestine Maclachlane had grant of the lands of Blarindess, Auchintroig, and Garthclachach in the earldom of Lennox (Levenax, p. 75). Lachlan Maclachlan of that Ilk witnessed a charter by Lord Home at Stirling, 1555-6 (Poltalloch Writs, p. 142). Doug-all M'Ean V' Clauchtlan in Drumleard, was a Glenurquhay vassal, 1638 (BBT., p. 403). The chief seat of the clan is in Cowal, Argyllshire, the lands of which were acquired by Gilleskel Maclachlan in 1292, and as early as 1314 we find their stronghold there referred to as 'Castellachlan,' i.e. Castle Lachlan. Some Maclachlans were for centuries hereditary captains of Innischonnel to the Argylls. They were probably originally CampbelIs as it is highly unlikely the custody of the chief fortress of Lochow would have been entrusted to members of another clan (HP., IV, p. 26). M'Clachlane 1643, M'Claichlane 1647, M'Clauchlane 1619, McClauchlan 1622, Makclachlane 1553, M'Clachlene 1590, Makclauchlane 1591, McLauchlane 1625, M'Lauchan 1621, McLauchleine 1692, Macklawchlane 1661,Maklawchlane 1548, M'Lawchtlane 1558, M'Llauchland 1699, M'Laughland 1667, McLawhlan 1704, Maclouchlan 1314, Vclauchlayne 1585. In 1684 (Parish): McClauchlin, McGlauchlin, McLaughlane, McLauchlen, Machiachlin, Maclachlan of that Ilk is mentioned in 1555 (Poltalloch Writs, p. 142). The name of Andreas Makclotan or Makclowden, student at St. Andrews University, 1467-69 (ERUS., p. 45, 48) is probably the same.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Son of Lachlan, q.v.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(Irish) The son of Lochlainn or Lochlann (Norway); the son of one who came from Norway.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

The clan Lachlan or Maclachlan, possessed the barony of Strath lachlan in Argyleshire. The patriarch of the family was Lachlan Mor, who lived in the XIII. cent. B.L.G. Traced to Gilchrist, grandson of Auradan, the common ancestor of all the clans of this tribe. Skene.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

The son of Lachlan. The family are descended from Gilchrist, grandson of Anradan, the son of Gillebride, King of the Isles in the twelfth century.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

MacLachlan Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name MacLachlan Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name MacLachlan is found most frequently in The United States. It may be rendered as a variant:. For other potential spellings of MacLachlan click here.

How Common Is The Last Name MacLachlan? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 71,910th most frequently held last name on a worldwide basis. It is borne by around 1 in 1,062,170 people. This surname is predominantly found in The Americas, where 45 percent of MacLachlan are found; 43 percent are found in North America and 43 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,694,839th most prevalent first name on earth. It is borne by 17 people.

This last name is most frequently held in The United States, where it is borne by 1,672 people, or 1 in 216,782. In The United States MacLachlan is mostly found in: California, where 14 percent live, Michigan, where 10 percent live and New York, where 8 percent live. Excluding The United States MacLachlan exists in 44 countries. It also occurs in Canada, where 20 percent live and Scotland, where 17 percent live.

MacLachlan Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of MacLachlan has changed over time. In The United States the number of people who held the MacLachlan surname expanded 23,886 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in Ireland it expanded 124 percent between 1901 and 2014.

MacLachlan Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the MacLachlan last name is primarily Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the MacLachlan last name are 3.87% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 50.64% registered with the party.

The amount MacLachlan earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 128.29% more than the national average, earning R 542,496 per year; in United States they earn 16.22% more than the national average, earning $50,147 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.33% more than the national average, earning $55,312 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

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MacLachlan Reference & Research

McLaughlin FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to MacLachlan
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis