Lochlan
A Scottish boy's name meaning "from the little lake".
Name Census estimates that about 4,492 living Americans carry the first name Lochlan. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Lochlan today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lochlan births was 2018 (368 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lochlan. 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 Lochlan with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Lochlan is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 113 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Lochlan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 76,303 Americans
Peak year
2018
368 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#775
Tracked since 1998
Census
Lochlan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,847 people with the first name Lochlan, which placed it at #5,838 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
#5,838
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,847 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lochlan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lochlan is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Lochlan 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 Lochlan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 2,511
- Two or more races6.0% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Lochlan
Lochlan leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 113 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Lochlan as a male name
- Ranked #775 in 2024
- 323 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (359 births)
Lochlan as a female name
- Ranked #8,715 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lochlan leans strongly male. 2,758 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 93 female bearers (3.3%).
Popularity
Lochlan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lochlan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,469 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lochlan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lochlan 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 Lochlan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lochlans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Lochlan, while Louisiana, Alaska, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 93 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lochlan
The name Lochlan is a variant of the Gaelic name Lachlan, which originated in the Scottish Highlands. It is derived from the Old Norse name Lachlann, which means "from the land of the lakes" or "lakeland." The name reflects the geography of the Scottish Highlands, which is known for its numerous lochs or lakes.
The name Lachlan has been recorded in Scotland since the 12th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Lachlan Mor, who was a 13th-century Scottish chieftain and progenitor of the Clan MacLachlan. The Clan MacLachlan was a prominent Scottish clan based in Argyll and Bute, and their ancestral lands were situated around Loch Fyne and Loch Awe.
In Scottish history, Lachlan was a popular name among the Highland clans. One notable figure was Lachlan Macquarie (1762-1824), who was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821 and played a significant role in shaping the early development of Australia.
Another famous Lachlan was Lachlan Mackinnon (1851-1935), a Scottish-born explorer and prospector who played a key role in the Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon Territory in the late 19th century. He was one of the first prospectors to stake claims in the Klondike region and is credited with helping to trigger the gold rush.
In the literary world, Lachlan Mackinnon (1856-1890) was a Scottish poet and journalist who wrote under the pen name "Lachlan Macdonald." He was known for his poetry and writings that captured the spirit and culture of the Scottish Highlands.
Another notable figure was Lachlan McLean (1798-1890), a Scottish-born businessman and politician who served as the 10th Premier of Prince Edward Island, Canada, from 1859 to 1863.
While the name Lochlan is a modern variant spelling, it retains the same Scottish Gaelic roots and connection to the Scottish Highlands' geography and clan history. The name has been used across various parts of the English-speaking world, particularly in areas with Scottish heritage or influence.
People
Lochlan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lochlan 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
Lochlan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lochlan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,492 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lochlan 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 76,303 US residents.
Is Lochlan a common name?
We classify Lochlan as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,526 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lochlan most popular?
The single biggest year for Lochlan was 2018, when 368 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lochlan is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lochlan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,847 people with the name Lochlan, or 0.94 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,838 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 Lochlan 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 Lochlan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lochlan leans strongly male. 2,758 people counted with this name were male (96.7%), compared with 93 female bearers (3.3%). 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 Lochlan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lochlan is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Lochlan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Lochlan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (2,511 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 Lochlan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lochlan a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Lochlan 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 Lochlan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lochlan 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 Lochlan 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 Lochlan?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Lochlan at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.