The Laing surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,465 people carried this name — #5,383 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 45,700 people counted. That is up 11% from 5,836 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the Laing surname

The Philippine pronunciation is influenced by Tagalog laing.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Laing» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Scotland, 1880s

Laing was 20 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 500. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Found over the greater part of Scotland.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 591 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Laing was recorded 128 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 186th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 188. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Laing in American newspapers,
1902–1912.

Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Laing
The Day Book 1912-09-19
Newspaper page from The Day Book carrying the name Laing
The Day Book 1912-09-19
Newspaper page from The Pacific Commercial Advertiser carrying the name Laing
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser 1902-01-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 51,189 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Laing in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2020s.

35,761 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Laing. The most, 4,951, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 11,798
New South Wales 11,646
Queensland 5,207
South Australia 2,475
Western Australia 2,399
Tasmania 2,031
ACT (Canberra) 113
Northern Territory 15

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Laing.

Who carried it

People named Laing,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Margaret Laing d. 1970 · artist
  • Meylia Laing d. 1910
  • Alicia Fanny Laing d. 1907
  • Emily Caroline Laing d. 1873
  • Louisa Augusta Maunsell d. 1917
  • Frederica Louisa Laing d. 1927

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Laing,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,051 records

1,051 records of the Laing name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 288
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 213
  • Other U.S. records 550
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert W. Laing

    Born 1907 in Iowa. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; clerk from Douglas County, Kansas. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Leavenworth National Cemetery, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John B. Laing

    Born 1919 in Oregon. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; draftsman from Polk County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1972, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Adam Laing

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the City of Chester from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 44; mechanic. From London, Scotland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,051 records for Laing in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,532 records

1,532 records of the Laing name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 838
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 223
  • Other Australian records 471
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Laing

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Anna Maria, sailing from London in 1851. Native of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John Laing

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Siren in 1835. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1841. Married 1841 in Oatlands, Tasmania, aged 29.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John Edward Laing

    Died 1924 in West¿devonport, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1924.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,532 records for Laing in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada305 records

305 records of the Laing name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 152
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 40
  • Other Canadian records 113
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Freeman Laing

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Laing

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Circassian, landing at Halifax, bound for Stayner, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Alexander J. Laing

    Died 1983, aged 88; buried at Transcona Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 305 records for Laing in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom152 records

152 records of the Laing name in the United Kingdom
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 67
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 43
  • Other British records 42
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Angus Douglas Laing

    Born 1895 at Grantown-onSpey; ironmonger's apprentice. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain); National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Hendry Laing

    Died 1995, aged 68; buried at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Alexander Laing

    Will proved in 1937; of Rhyl, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 152 records for Laing in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand61 records

61 records of the Laing name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 49
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 7
  • Other New Zealand records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Marshall Laing

    Died 1927, aged 60; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert Laing

    Died 1907, aged 73; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jessie Merle Laing

    Buried in 1938 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 18.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 61 records for Laing in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands38 records

38 records of the Laing name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 26
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 7
  • Dutch population registers 5
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Willem Laing

    Married in 1917 in Hellendoorn; farmer. Died 1957 in Hellendoorn, aged 73.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johanna Hendrika Laïng

    Born 1908 in Raalte. Married in 1929 in Raalte.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Joannes Laïng

    Born 1877 in Raalte. Married in 1906 in Raalte; farmer.

    Open Archives, Collectie Overijssel locatie Zwolle (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 38 records for Laing in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Germany13 records

13 records of the Laing name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Laing

    From Rehburg, Stolzenau. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 4 September 1915; then reported missing in the list of 8 May 1917 (Infantry Regiment No. 74).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Gerhard Laing

    From Neuscharrel, Friesoythe. Reported dead in the Prussian casualty list of 10 May 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 2 of 13 records for Laing in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Laing name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record John Roderick William Laing

    Born 1926 in the United Kingdom; died 1990 in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Laing.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Laing is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Laing volume
Scroll to Top