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Lachlan was used as a given name in both Scotland and Ireland from the early Middle Ages.
The name can be found in the Irish Annals from as early as 983 and there are records which cover the 11th, 12th and 15th centuries. Further records from the 16th and 17th centuries show that the name maintained usage through to the Early Modern Period, often in the anglicised spellings Lo(u)ghlin and La(u)ghlin.
According to Donnchadh Ó Corráin and Fidelma Maguire in Irish Names (1990): "This name came into use in the early middle ages among the Uí Néill of the north and other families. In the later middle ages, it was favoured by the O Hanleys of Connacht, the Mac Cabes and other families. Until the nineteenth century it was in use among many northern families — O Hoey, O Haughey, O Connellan, Malone, Mac Creesh, Mac Cann, Mac Teague, Mac Namee and Mac Kenna — but it is now rare or obsolete."
In Scotland, most notably, the name was well used by Clan Maclean and Clan Mackintosh.
Of the Maclean's, eight of their clan chiefs have borne the name Lachlan (beginning with Lachlan Lubanach Maclean of Duart (b.1325) 5th clan chief) in the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 20th centuries including the current chief, Sir Lachlan Maclean of Duart and Morven, 12th Baronet (b.1942), the 28th chief of Clan Maclean.
Similarly, eight Mackintosh clan chiefs were given the name Lachlan (beginning with Lachlan Mackintosh (b.1407), 8th chief) in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 20th centuries.
Clan Lachlan (Maclachlan) itself claim decent from Lochlainn Mor "Lachlan the Great," a 13th century chieftain of Irish origin, who in turn was a descendant of the Uí Néill family and therefore Niall Noigiallach, High King of Ireland, who ruled in the 4th to 5th century. As early as 1292, the chief seat of the clan in Cowal, Argyll was quired by Gilleskel Maclachlan.
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It is interesting to note that the seat of Clan Maclachlan is in Argyll, as is the seat of Clan Maclean; Clan Mackintosh held their seat in neighbouring Inverness. This suggests that the name held local popularity and is supported by data from The Surname Atlas which shows that, as a given name, Lachlan was (overwhelmingly) most common in Argyll and its neighbouring counties on the 1881 census (see image right).
While Lachlan enjoyed good use in Scotland (especially in the North-West), it was very rare in England and Wales with only 49 births from 1838 to 1900.
In 1900, Lachlan ranked #71 in Scotland but had fallen out of the top 100 by 1950.
Lachlan was in the Scottish top 300 consistently from 1974 to 1994 (with the exception of 1991) and in the top 200 from 1995 to 2014.
In 2015, Lachlan broke the top 100 at #90 (75 births). The spellings Lochlan and Lauchlan, which were both in consistent use from the late 1990s, had generally ranked below the top 200, but had also seen a rise by 2015 at #111 (59 births) and #255 (17 births) respectively.
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In 2016, Lachlan ranked #92 (72 births), Lochlan ranked #115 (59 births) and Lauchlan ranked #190 (28 births).
With all the different spellings of Lachlan combined (22 in total), the name ranked #35 overall in Scotland in 2016.
In England and Wales, Lachlan rose from #1040 in 1996, to #678 in 1997 and #351 in 1998, after which it stayed in the top 500 for the following decade. It can be tempting to attribute some of this increased usage and familiarity to the character Lachlan "Lachie" Fraser on Australian soap Home and Away from 1997-1998 (which had up to eight million viewers at this time in the UK).
Lochlan was the less common spelling in England and Wales, consistently under the top 700 until 2012, but it began to rise from 2014 when both Lachlan and Lochlan jointly ranked #558 with 65 births.
From this point, Lochlan overtook Lachlan in popularity, though both saw a rise into the top 400. In 2016, Lochlan ranked #380 (119 births) and Lachlan ranked #398 (109 births).
Once again, this rise coincides with a soap character, namely the introduction of Lachlan White in British soap Emmerdale in November 2014.
In Australia, Lachlan has long enjoyed popularity, which Anna Otto attributes to British military officer Lachlan Macquarie, who served as the fifth and last Governor of New South Wales. It has ranked in the top 100 since 1982 when it ranked #96 and was in the top 5 by 1997 where it remained until 2010.
It currently ranks at #10 in 2017.
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