Find out how popular the last name Laughlin is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Laughlin.

Laughlin, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Laughlin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laughlin in America

Laughlin is the 2232nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laughlin surname appeared 16,323 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Laughlin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laughlin to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Laughlin

The surname Laughlin originated in Scotland during the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "lough" meaning lake and "linn" meaning pool or stream, referring to someone who lived near a lake or pool.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England after his conquest of Scotland. The name is spelled "Lochlyn" in this document.

Over time, the spelling evolved to Laughlin, Loughlin, Laughlan, and other variations. The name was particularly common in the Scottish Highlands, especially in the areas around Inverness and Argyll.

In the 16th century, there are records of a John Laughlin who was a landowner in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Another notable figure was Robert Laughlin, a Scottish poet born in 1639 who wrote works in both English and Scots.

The name also spread to Ireland, where it is often rendered as Loughlin or Lochlann. One of the earliest recorded Irish individuals with this name was Domnall Ua Lochlainn, a King of Ailech who ruled in the 12th century.

As the name spread across the British Isles, it also made its way to the Americas with Scottish and Irish immigrants. Some notable bearers of the Laughlin name in North America include:

1. John Laughlin (1766-1838), an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania.
2. Samuel Huston Laughlin (1793-1843), an American lawyer and judge from Tennessee.
3. James Laurence Laughlin (1850-1933), an American economist and educator who served as the president of Cornell University.
4. Robert Laughlin (born 1950), an American physicist and Nobel laureate known for his work on the quantum Hall effect.
5. Kathleen Laughlin (born 1964), an American actress and writer known for her work on television shows like "The Guardian" and "V.I.P."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laughlin

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Laughlin.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Laughlin was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Laughlin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Laughlin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Laughlin, please contact us.

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