Fun Facts About the Name Loch
- 90 babies named Loch: U.S. records list 90 babies given the name Loch from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Loch Mean?
Loch is a Scottish Gaelic word meaning "lake" or "sea inlet," and as a given name it is a direct borrowing of that landscape word rather than a translation or shortening of some other personal name. The Gaelic loch descends from Old Irish loch, which is related to Latin lacus ("basin, lake") and to English lake; these forms point back to a common Indo-European word for a body of water or basin. In Gaelic usage the word covers both inland lakes and the long narrow sea inlets of western Scotland. The Irish cognate of the same word is written lough, and the meaning there is the same. Nothing about the name is figurative: its sense remains the literal one, "lake."
Loch Name History & Origins
Loch has been the ordinary Gaelic word for a lake or an arm of the sea for many centuries, and it is still standard in Scots and Scottish English. It appears in well-known place names such as Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, and Loch Tay, and the same word underlies Irish names like Lough Neagh. Its presence in Old Irish, alongside the Latin relative lacus, shows how old the term is within the Gaelic languages.
Use of Loch as a personal name is uncommon and follows the Scottish habit of drawing names from landscape features - glens, isles, rivers, and lochs. Because the given name is rare, there is little recorded history attached to it as a personal name specifically; the word's long history belongs to the common noun and to the place names built from it. Surnames spelled Loch exist as well, but they have their own separate derivations, often from a place name, and should not be treated as the source of the given name.
How Popular is the Name Loch?
Loch has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2021. Its best rank was #7,920 in 2021.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,654 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #8,056 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #8,710 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2021 | #7,920 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2020 | #11,435 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #11,604 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #13,481 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #8,444 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2014 | #11,589 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2013 | #13,291 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #9,378 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2011 | #10,329 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore More Lists with Name Loch
Most Popular Boy Names That Start with L
Short Boy Names That Start with L
How the Name Loch Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Loch's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Loch's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.