A Scottish and Irish surname, the McLaughlin family name comes from the Gaelic term of O’Lochlann, which means the son of Lochlann. The name Lochlainn and Lochlann refers to lakes.

Spellings variations for McLaughlin include McLaughlan, MacLoughlin, Laughlin, MacLaughlin, Loughlin, O’Loughlin, Lochlain, McClaughlin and McLachlan.

In Ireland the McLaughlin name is very popular. It first appeared with McLaughlin families in the County Meath.

In England the McLaughlin family name is primarily in London, Yorkshire, Durham and Lancashire. Only a few areas in Wales have any number of McLaughlin families.

In Scotland the McLaughlin surname is scattered over most of the area. The higher portions are located in Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire.

The states of Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania and Indiana within the United States have the higher percentage of families with the McLaughlin surname.