Lachlan
A masculine given name of Scottish origin meaning "from the fjord-land".
Name Census estimates that about 5,866 living Americans carry the first name Lachlan. It is a predominantly male name (95.3% of registrations). The average person named Lachlan today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lachlan births was 2024 (401 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lachlan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lachlan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Lachlan is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 281 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Lachlan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
5.9K
~ 1 in 58,431 Americans
Peak year
2024
401 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#691
Tracked since 1952
Census
Lachlan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,183 people with the first name Lachlan, which placed it at #4,458 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,458
National first-name rank
People counted
4.2K
4,183 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lachlan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lachlan is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lachlan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lachlan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 3,634
- Two or more races7.1% · 298
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 183
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 38
- Black or African American0.4% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Lachlan
Lachlan leans heavily male at 95.3% of total registrations, but 281 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lachlan as a male name
- Ranked #691 in 2024
- 389 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (389 births)
Lachlan as a female name
- Ranked #8,692 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lachlan leans strongly male. 3,958 people counted with this name were male (94.8%), compared with 219 female bearers (5.2%).
Popularity
Lachlan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lachlan from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,840 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lachlan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lachlan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lachlan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lachlans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, New York, Washington recorded the most babies named Lachlan, while New Mexico, Maine, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 104 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lachlan
The name Lachlan is a Scottish Gaelic name derived from the old Gaelic word "lachan," meaning "lake." It is believed to have originated in the region of Argyll in western Scotland, where many lochs or lakes are present. The name was likely initially used to describe someone who lived near a lake or was associated with a particular body of water.
During the Middle Ages, the name Lachlan appeared in various Scottish historical records and documents. One of the earliest recorded instances was Lachlan Mor, who was a 13th-century Scottish warrior and chieftain of the Clan MacLachlan. He played a significant role in defending Scotland against the Norse invaders and is celebrated in Scottish folklore.
In the 16th century, Lachlan Macintosh, born around 1520, was a notable figure who served as the 16th Chief of Clan Mackintosh. He was known for his involvement in the battles of the Scottish Reformation and his efforts to protect the interests of his clan.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Lachlan Macquarie, born in 1762, who was a British colonial administrator and served as the Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. He played a crucial role in the development of Sydney and is credited with shaping the infrastructure and governance of the colony during his tenure.
In the 19th century, Lachlan McLean, born in 1798, was a Scottish-Canadian explorer and fur trader who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company. He is remembered for his expeditions in what is now western Canada and his contributions to the exploration of the Pacific Northwest region.
More recently, Lachlan Murdoch, born in 1971, is a prominent Australian-American businessman and media executive. He is the co-chairman and CEO of the media conglomerate News Corp, founded by his father, Rupert Murdoch, and has played a significant role in the company's global operations.
While the name Lachlan has Scottish origins, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in Australia, New Zealand, and North America, where it is often associated with Scottish heritage and traditions.
People
Lachlan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lachlan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lachlan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lachlan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,866 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lachlan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 58,431 US residents.
Is Lachlan a common name?
We classify Lachlan as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,921 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lachlan most popular?
The single biggest year for Lachlan was 2024, when 401 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lachlan is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lachlan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,183 people with the name Lachlan, or 1.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,458 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lachlan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lachlan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lachlan leans strongly male. 3,958 people counted with this name were male (94.8%), compared with 219 female bearers (5.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lachlan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lachlan is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lachlan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lachlan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (3,634 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lachlan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lachlan a male name?
Yes, 95.3% of people registered as Lachlan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lachlan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lachlan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lachlan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Lachlan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Lachlan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.