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

Laughrey, 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 Laughrey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Laughrey in America

Laughrey is the 57781st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Laughrey surname appeared 352 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Laughrey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Laughrey 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 Laughrey

The surname Laughrey has its origins in the Scottish Highlands and is believed to have originated in the late 13th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "lagh" meaning "hollow" and "reidh" meaning "slope" or "plain", suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a hollow or depression on a hillside.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1329, where a John de Loughry is listed as a landowner in the county of Perthshire. The name also appears in various charters and land records from the 14th and 15th centuries, with spellings such as Loughrie, Loughrye, and Loghry.

In the 16th century, the Laughreys were prominent in the Highlands, particularly in the regions of Argyll and Perthshire. A notable figure from this period was Sir Duncan Laughrey, a clan chief who fought alongside King James IV at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 against the English.

The name Laughrey is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Loughry in Ayrshire and Loughry Hill in Aberdeenshire. These places may have been named after early members of the Laughrey clan or may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Other notable individuals with the surname Laughrey include:

1. Robert Laughrey (c. 1550-1620), a Scottish merchant and landowner in Aberdeen.
2. Margaret Laughrey (1620-1692), accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch trials in the late 17th century.
3. James Laughrey (1784-1853), a Scottish-born surveyor and explorer who helped map parts of the Canadian wilderness.
4. William Laughrey (1833-1901), an American Civil War veteran and politician who served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio.
5. Sir John Laughrey (1875-1944), a Scottish engineer and businessman who played a key role in the development of hydroelectric power in Canada.

The surname Laughrey has endured through the centuries and continues to be found in various parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, England, Canada, and the United States, where descendants of the original Scottish bearers of the name have settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Laughrey

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

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 Laughrey 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 Laughrey 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 Laughrey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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