The McLaughlin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 74,816 people carried this name — #437 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,940 people counted. That is up 2% from 73,128 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McLaughlin surname

Anglicized from Irish Mac Lochlainn (“son of Lochlan”). By surface analysis, Mc- + Laughlin.

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

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 391 births for the McLaughlin name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 17,400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The count includes the spelling McLoughlin.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 228
Connacht 94
Leinster 62
Munster 7

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

29 people named McLaughlin live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Geneva 10
Zurich 8
Bern 5
Ticino 3
Valais 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

22 people named McLaughlin is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 22

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

McLaughlin was recorded 223 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 85th most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 296. 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 the first U.S. census, 1790

128 families named McLaughlin, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 694 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McLaughlin, McGlachland, Mcglachlond, McGlaghlin, McGlauchlin, McGlaughlan, McGlaughlin, McGlochlan, McGlochland, McGlochlen, McGlocklin, McGlohlan, McGlohlin, McGloughlan, McGloughlin, Mcgloughlin, McLachland, McLachlen, McLachlin, McLacklin, McLaghlin, McLaighlin, McLaughlan, McLaughland, McLaughlen, M'Laughlin, McLaughling, McLauglin, McLlaughlin, McLocklin, McLoughlin, McLughlin. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 57
Maryland 18
North Carolina 16
New Hampshire 10
New York 10
Virginia 10
Vermont 3
Maine 2
South Carolina 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McLaughlin in American newspapers,
1892–1919.

Newspaper page from The Manchester Journal carrying the name McLaughlin
The Manchester Journal 1919-07-03
Newspaper page from The Seattle Post-intelligencer carrying the name McLaughlin
The Seattle Post-intelligencer 1892-02-05
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name McLaughlin
The Salt Lake Herald 1907-11-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

McLaughlin in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

43,665 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McLaughlin. The most, 10,995, 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 Queensland, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 15,884
New South Wales 13,558
Victoria 7,264
South Australia 4,603
Western Australia 1,134
Tasmania 681
ACT (Canberra) 393
Northern Territory 29

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

Who carried it

People named McLaughlin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ann McLaughlin Korologos
    Ann McLaughlin Korologos 1941–2023 · gallerist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McLaughlin,
in the records of 7 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 States14,461 records

14,461 records of the McLaughlin name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 4,879
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,999
  • Other U.S. records 6,583
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Connie G. McLaughlin

    Born 1920 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1944 at Presidio of Monterey, California; driver. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1973, 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)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Daniel P. McLaughlin

    Born 1946; from St Paul, Minnesota. U.S. Army; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Mary McLaughlin

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 14,461 records for McLaughlin in the United States.

Counts: 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,416 records

1,416 records of the McLaughlin name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 621
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 306
  • Other Australian records 489
  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 Elizabeth McLaughlin

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mexborough, sailing from Dublin in 1841. Native of Downpatrick, Down. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1843. Married 1843 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John McLaughlin

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Strathfieldsaye, aged 38; British subject.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ann Michele McLaughlin

    Computr netwrk opera of Noble Park, Victoria; died 1997.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,416 records for McLaughlin in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada922 records

922 records of the McLaughlin name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 702
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 56
  • Other Canadian records 164
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John McLaughlin

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Circassian, bound for Brampton, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Kathleen Evelyn McLaughlin

    Buried in 1987 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 53.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Helena Agnes McLaughlin

    Died 1916 in Amherst, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 922 records for McLaughlin in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom75 records

75 records of the McLaughlin name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 39
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 36
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McLaughlin

    Died 2000, aged 72; buried at Drymen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. McLaughlin

    King's Own Scottish Borderers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Alexander James McLaughlin

    Died 2000, aged 64; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 75 records for McLaughlin in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · 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); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand51 records

51 records of the McLaughlin name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 39
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • Other New Zealand records 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Emma Honora McLaughlin

    Died 1971, aged 66; buried at Memorial Park 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 John McLaughlin

    Died 1911, aged 52; 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 Harriet McLaughlin

    Buried in 1899 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 81.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 51 records for McLaughlin in New Zealand.

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

France4 records

4 records of the McLaughlin 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 Edmund Arthur McLaughlin

    Born 1915 in Great Britain; died 1993 in Albi (Tarn).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Margaret McLaughlin

    Born 1921 in the United States; died 1999 in Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 4 records for McLaughlin in France.

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).

Ireland1 record

1 record of the McLaughlin name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Mc Laughlin

    Died 1787, aged 70; buried at Clontuskert Abbey, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McLaughlin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McLaughlin 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.

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