boy's name
Lochlann
LOKH-lan
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Letters 8
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 1,420
Ireland
#197
2025 births
Lochlann is a boy's name that was the Irish word for Scandinavia and, by extension, for a Viking. It ranks 197th in Ireland and is rising, so Irish parents are choosing a name that once meant the raiders their ancestors fought.
- Lochlann is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2019, when 40 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 94,733 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1999.
Lochlann over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 6 |
| 2000s | 34 |
| 2010s | 212 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 191 |
What Lochlann means
Lochlann means Scandinavia, or a person from it. The Irish sense is a Norseman, and the name is often glossed as land of the lakes or fjords from the elements it appears to contain.
Where Lochlann comes from
Lochlann was the Irish name for the Norse lands, and Lochlannach meant a Norseman or Viking. The word looks like loch, a lake or inlet, with a suffix, which is where the land of the lakes gloss comes from, though whether that is the true derivation or a later folk reading of a borrowed name is not certain. What is certain is the sense in use: in the annals, Lochlannaigh are the people who burned Clonmacnoise and founded Dublin. The name's later career as a personal name follows the long absorption of Norse settlers into Irish society, and its modern revival sits alongside Lorcan and Ruairí as parents reach back past the English period.
Lochlann in use
Lochlann ranks 197th in Ireland on 25 births, 264th in Scotland, 393rd in Northern Ireland, 1149th in England and Wales and 3366th in the United States. It peaked in 2019, when 40 babies were registered in its largest market, and is rising in our data. Our records carry it only from 1999 across 1,420 lifetime births, so its entire recorded history belongs to the current revival rather than to any earlier period of use.
How popular is Lochlann?
In 2025, Lochlann was given to 35 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Lochlann is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Lochlann
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Lochlann also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Lochlann over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Lochlann
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Lochlann in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Lochlann
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Lochlann — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Lochlann
What does the name Lochlann mean?
Scandinavia, or a person from it. In Irish sources Lochlannach means a Norseman.
Is Lochlann the same as Lachlan?
They are related — Lachlan is the Scottish Gaelic form of the same word, and carries the same Norse sense.
How do you pronounce Lochlann?
LOKH-lan, with the ch as in loch.
How popular is Lochlann?
197th in Ireland and rising. Our records carry it only from 1999.
Is Lochlann a girl's or a boy's name?
Lochlann is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Lochlann?
Lochlann is usually shortened to Lochie, Lock and Lockie.
Is Lochlann a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Lochlann currently ranks #197 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.