The Clan/Sept History

Before Irish names were translated into English, O Loughlin had a Gaelic form of
O Lochlainn, which is derived from a Norse personal name.

The general population of Ireland, like those of Europe and Britain during the
Middle Ages, was illiterate; as such, people could not specify an exact spelling
of their surnames for those very literate scribes. The scribes, therefore,
recorded people's names as they saw fit. As a result, surnames often had many
spelling variations. For O Loughlin some of these variations included: Loughlin,
O'Loughlin, Loughnane and others.
First found in county Clare, where they held a family seat from very ancient
times.
The 18th and 19th centuries saw many Irish Families immigrate to North America
in search of land and opportunities. The largest influx of Irish immigrants to
the United States and British North America came during the 1840s when the Great
Potato Famine laid waste to their homeland. Hundreds of thousands left the
island in an attempt to escape the starvation and disease it brought. Although
the arrival of such a large number of destitute Irish was not welcomed by the
established population in the United States and what would become known as
Canada at the time, these Irish were an essential element to the rapid
development of these growing industrial nations. They filled the demand for the
cheap labor needed for the work in factories and in the construction of bridges,
roads, canals, and railways. An examination of passenger and immigration lists
has revealed many immigrants bearing the name of O Loughlin or one of its
variants: David W. Dennis, Eugene, Isaac, James, John, Joseph, Michael, Patrick,
and William Loughlin, all landed in Pennsylvania between 1773 and 1864; James
Loughlin landed in New York State in 1823. In Newfoundland, William was the
holder of an inn in St. John's around 1730.

Motto Translated: The anchor of salvation.