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Lougheed, as a family name, is relatively young. The family is an offshoot of the Scottish Boyd family that settled (largely) in County Sligo, Ireland in the mid 1700's.
The story goes that one William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, head of the Boyds of Scotland, switched his allegiance in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 to the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. Bonnie Prince Charlie, as he was known, was on the losing end of his rebellion to gain the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Boyd himself was taken prisoner at the Battle of Culloden, and subsequently beheaded on Tower Hill in 1746. His titles were declared forfeit.
Several of the Boyds - it is unclear exactly how many - decided this was a pretty good time to not be a Boyd in Scotland, and emigrated to Ireland. They changed their names to "Lougheed", which is traditionally translated as "Loch-heed" or "head of the lake", generally taken to refer to themselves settling at the head of a lake in Ireland.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a number of members of the family emigrated from County Sligo to Ontario, Canada, in some cases going through the United States. (See the "Progenitors" section below.) From Ontario, the families spread west and south, with contingents of the family resident in the 5 western Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario) and in the United States. There are still Lougheeds in Ireland, as well as some in Australia, and may be others scattered throughout the world.
Discussion of Scottish Roots
By Lin Lougheed from the Lougheed.net Message Board 2000:
"The Irish word for lake is Lough. The name was originally Scottish. The clan was originally Macdonald, some of them moved to the head of the Lake and they were known as the Locheed Macdonalds. Loch being the Scots spelling of Lake. When part of the Clan was transplanted to Ireland the Irish spelling of Lake was used making it Lougheed. The transition from Scotland was in 1688 following the Battle of the Boyne from which King William the III (King William of Orange) emerged victorious and cemented his position by transplanting English but chiefly Scots to Ireland, we being among those transplanted. That is also why Orange day is celebrated and why so many Lougheeds are Williams.
By Tom Lougheed from the Lougheed.net Message Board 2000:
Our family in Washington state has an old family letter from one of John's sons, who writes that although John Lougheed (b. 1796 to mother Scarlett in Sligo Ireland. d 1862) was born in Ireland, his father was born in Scotland at the head of "Klarney lake."There isn't any such lake in Scotland, according to the RAF maps that I checked in the U.B.C. library in Vancouver, B.C., which dated back to WW-II. There is a very famous lake by that name in the south of Ireland.
So I take that either the Scotland part or the Klarney part is wrong.
Please note that the man who wrote the letter near the end of the 1800's, wrote after his father had been dead for many years. As far as we know, he had never been outside of New York state, and his father, John, had never been to Scotland. I would guess that at that time, detailed maps of that part of Scotland were not available in rural New York state for him to check spelling.
SCOTTISH PLACES
General accounts of the Lougheed/Loughead/Lochheed/Lochhead name report that it was popular in the area near the end of the Firth of Clyde, where there are/were two or three tiny towns with "lochheed" imbedded in the name:
Lochgiphead and Garelochhead still show on maps.
County Ayr (Ayrshire) also happens to have the city Kilmarnock close by the city of Ayr; Kilmarnock appears to have been important to our line as the seat of the earl whose troubles we left the country to avoid
In modern gaelic, Kilmarnock is pronounced "Kil-mar-nuh" and Klarney is pronounced "Klar-nuh" so they could make a good match. By writing "Klarney Loch" he might have meant "Kilmarnock Loch" perhaps a local name for the Firth of Clyde.
(Annette Lougheed Hollingworth is my sister.)
Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store Lougheed Coat of Arms / Lougheed Family Crest Lougheed Coat of Arms / Lougheed Family Crest
From web page: http://www.4crests.com/lougheed-coat-of-arms.html
This surname of LOUGHEED is a variant of the name Lochead and is of local origin, from lands situated at the head of a loch.
The name is common in the shires of Lanark, Renfrew and Dumfries. The use of fixed surnames or descriptive names appears to have commenced in France about the year 1000, and such names were introduced into Scotland through the Normans a little over one hundred years later, although the custom of using them was by no means common for many years afterwards.
During the reign of Malcolm Ceannmor (1057-1093) the latter directed his chief subjects, after the custom of other nations, to adopt surnames from their territorial possessions, and there created 'The first erlis that euir was in Scotland'.
At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield, and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour.
Early records of the name mention Gilbert de Lakenheued of Lanarkshire, and Wautier de Lagenheuded of Aberdeenshire, who were both documented in the year 1296.
James Lochheid was burgess and guild-brother of Glasgow in the year 1626. The burghs of Scotland owe much of their prosperity to the large immigration of foreigners which went on during the 12th and 13th centuries.
The original founders of the towns, were in many cases wanderers from Flanders, who brought with them their habits of industry and knowledge of trade and manufacturer. Settlers of this description came in great numbers to England in the reign of Henry 1. (1100-1135) and when Henry 11 (1154-1189) drove all foreigners out of his dominions they flocked into Scotland, where a more enlightened policy made them welcome. The name has many variant spellings which include Lochead and Loachhead.