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November 2011 Moms
ACAsomeday
member
Lachlan/Lochlan
ACAsomeday
member
Hey guys, I'm stepping out on a limb here...
DH and I love the name Lachlan (also spelled Lochlan). It is of significance to us because it is the Scots term for viking/scandinavian settlers and my family is scottish and his family is scots & swedish. It is supposedly a fairly common name in Australia, but since we live in Maine...
I tend to love traditional/old-fashioned names and I really don't like modern/recent or oddly spelled names, so picking this unique name (albeit traditional in scotland) would be a big leap for me. I have to admit though, we both really love the sound of it. Our last name is Ainsworth.
First question: when reading it, are you fairly confident in how to pronounce it? (Lock-Lan)
Second question: what are your constructive thoughts on the name? (i'm stepping out on a limb because I'm generally sensitive about this topic, and extra sensi lately due to preggy hormones - which is why I'm not bringing our name choices to my family for review..) If you don't like it, why? I want to make sure there's not something I'm missing!
Third question: Spelling....Lachlan or Lochlan?
Thanks girls! 
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Re: Lachlan/Lochlan
First: I was able to pronounce it just fine
Second: I like it. I think it's a cute name and flows well with your last name. It's not one of those names that's odd enough that I'd say "what the he!l were they thinking." I think it's just unique enough.
Third: I'd go with the spelling you prefer. I think people will get it either way...but the o is obviously more....obvious.
Fourth: I'm in Maine too! Where about in Maine are you from? Southern/Northern? I'm in Portland.
Yayy!! I was beginning to think nobody on thebump was from Maine!
I'm up north of waterville by about 40 minutes - in a small town off the beaten path about 20 minutes from the Newport exit. We just moved up here from portland a year ago for my job!! I will admit though, we're from "away" - Vermont.
Thanks for your thoughts! I was wondering if people would think Lochlan was pronounced "loke-lan" I figured it shouldn't be too hard because there are enough people with the last name MacLachlan (aka sarah!) but that's why I figured I would ask others!!
I think it's fabulous!!!
I also dislike new, trendy and misspelled names and parents desperately trying to be unique. An ethnic name that felects your child's herritage does not fall in to any of those categories. You really have the best of both worlds here. The name will be unique among his peers but, it isn't freeaky or made up. As you point out, it is a very traditional name.
I am partial to Lachlan. Ithink you have a reasonable chance of people pronouncing it correctly, or at least close to correctly on the first try. I don't think you have a prayer of native speakers of American English getting Lochlan right, as sad as that is.
Go for it! You and your husband both like it and it honors your herritage. I really think it is a fantastic choice, even if it doesn't make the top 100 names for kids in Maine
Oh, I would definitely not think people would say "Loke-lan"...if anything in Maine/New England, you might get the long a sound if you go with the Lachlan spelling...Like, "Lack-lan". But still, I got it without you having to explain...and I was born and raised here, with a good ole' Maine accent!
I know, there don't seem to be many Mainers that chat on here...even if you are from away!
I went to school up North, so I'm familiar with the area you're talking about!
My husband is going to Husson in Bangor...nursing.. - any chance you went there??
Nope, I went to the University of Maine (in Orono). But close by! I do know a few people that went to Husson back in my day, though!
Good name.
First: No problems pronouncing it either way.
Second: I like it a lot. And it sounds GREAT with your last name. I think it's a good, strong name and it is part of your background and roots, so I say go for it.
Third: I like the Lochlan spelling, but La is okay, too..so do what you think is great. It's a pretty "traditional" name, so I would personally spell it the truly "traditional" way.
HAHAHA I had to look that word up in the dictionary! :P I don't know if it will make/break my decision, but its an interesting call lol
I had no problem on pronounciation. I'd go with whichever spelling is more traditional, like another poster said.
I am in the minority here, but my immediate response about the name was.....eh. Don't love it, don't hate it. My first thought after "eh" was Lochness monster.
Baby Turtle - November 2014
I think it's a great name! I think both spellings are fine, and I'm not sure which one I prefer.
FYI, Vince Vaughn named his baby daughter Locklyn. I'm hoping that it won't become trendy and/or a girl's name because of that.
Abraham Arthur 2/21/10 // Asher Kendall 11/11/11
I think it's a great name and it goes well with your last name. I like that it's unique, but it's still a real name and the significance makes it even better. I didn't question pronunciation. That said, I think in some parts of the country (thinking PA, where I'm from), you would get a slightly different sound with an A vs an O. I'm not sure I can even describe the difference. It would be sort of like the difference between Dawn and Don in those places. The O would sound harsher (at least IMO). I think because of this, I prefer Lachlan. Is either spelling the more traditional spelling? If so, I'd probably go with that one.
I really like the name! We went with a very traditional Polish name for my son and it was really branching out for us. I think at first our families scratched their heads but they quickly all loved his name as much as we did.
As far as the spelling, I go back and forth as I read everyone's posts. But, I think I tend to like it spelled "Lochlan" a bit better.
Thanks everyone
Keep it coming!
The traditional spelling, from the research I've done, is Lachlan. I was quite surprised by that since the name means "lake land" and the scottish word for Lake is Loch, not Lach!
Loch Ness monster...I can't believe I didn't think of that one myself!! I agree, there are worse nicknames. I already call him my little monster because if he's anything like his father OR myself *(let a lone a mix of both), he'll be a total monster!
Not many people seem to dislike it --- just being nice? Or is it actually a pretty well liked name?
ps. listened to his heart beat on the doppler today at work!
We have a friend who has a baby named Lachlan. At first, it was a little hard to get used to - just b/c I had never heard of it before, but it's growing on me. Their older son is named Merrick. They both seem very "stately" and formal names. The mom insisted on having "grown up" names for her kids - doesn't like babyish names that won't sound adult later.
I can see kids shortening it down the line to "Lach", though, but that' doesn't sound bad.
Also - get ready for everyone to misspell it (whichever way you decide spell it!).
This is an old thread, but I had to reply in regards to spelling. I am a STICKLER for original spellings, which is why I had a hard time figuring out how to spell my son's name (Lochlan). Lachlan is not the original spelling. Most people from Australia and maybe the UK will tell you it's the "only" way to spell it, but this is far from the truth. There are many different ways to spell it- historically, not even more modern variations. Check out this wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochlann
Which says that Lachlan is a variation of Lochlann.
This is also mentioned in the entry for "Lachlan":
Lachlan (pronounced /'l?kl?n/ or /'l?kl?n/)[1] is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Gaelic Lachlann, which is in turn derived from the earlier Gaelic Lochlann. The name is said to refer to a migrant from Norway, "the land of the lochs". Pet forms of Lachlan include Lachie and Lockie (in Canada).
I met a man in a coffee shop recently who asked me my son's name because he had heard me calling him. He was from Ireland and he said his father's name was Lochlann. He said it is not very common in Ireland these days. He suggested that there might have been a few others he knew of that had been his father's age.
I had pondered going with Lochlann, but I didn't want people to think it was a girl name with Ann on the end, so we dropped the second 'n'. I don't like the 'a' because I don't want people to pronounce it Lacklan, and since my husbands family is primarily Irish (some Irish-scots) I wanted to go with the more Irish spelling. My family is Norwegian.
I just wanted to clarify for anybody looking into this name. I'm tired of hearing that Lachlan is the only acceptable way.
Lochlann
Lochlainn
Lochlan
Lachlan
and there is also the even "older" spelling of Laithlind and the Welsh version, Llychlyn
You do realize that this is a 6 month old thread, and that probably 99% of us have had - and named - our babies already...no?
And if you're such a STICKLER for original spellings, I find it funny that you didn't stick with the original spelling yourself, which would have included two N's.