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Laughton is a British surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Alaine Laughton (born 1978), Jamaican singer-songwriter
- Anthony Seymour Laughton (1927–2019), British oceanographer
- Charles Laughton (1899–1962), English actor and film director
- Charles E. Laughton (1846–1895), American politician and lawyer
- Dale Laughton (born 1970), Scottish rugby league player
- Dot Laughton (1913–1982), Australian cricketer
- Doug Laughton, English rugby league player and coach
- Eddie Laughton (1903–1952), English actor
- Fred Van Wyck Laughton, Canadian politician
- Gail Laughton (1921–1985), American jazz harpist
- Herbie Laughton (1927–2012), Australian singer
- John George Laughton (1891–1965), New Zealand missionary
- John Knox Laughton (1830–1915), English naval historian
- Michael Laughton (born 1934), British electrical engineer
- Mike Laughton (born 1944), Canadian ice hockey player
- Richard Laughton (died 1723), English Anglican priest and academic
- Scott Laughton (born 1994), Canadian ice hockey player
- Stacie Laughton, American politician
- Verity Laughton (born 1952), Australian playwright
- William Laughton (1812-1897) Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland
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English versions of the surname are usually said to be Anglo-Saxon in origin and associated with the growing of leeks. This may be accurate in parts of England but does not take other narratives into account. It is entirely possible that the name Laughton has two separate roots that converged as a result of trade and other reasons. This could be connected to increasing contacts between regions such as the formation of the Hudson Bay Company in Canada, which recruited heavily from Orkney as well as from England.
Laughton is recorded as being most prolific in Yorkshire England but is also ranked as the 23rd most common surname in Orkney. This may indicate a Scandinavian origin, as both regions have historic links to Denmark and Norway dating back to the Viking invasions.
In Orkney, the name may have origins in the surname Lachtane or Lauchtain, which can be traced back to 1494 AD in the kings' records of that period. The transfer of sovereignty from Norway to Scotland occurred officially at that time but had actually been going on for decades. The immigration to Orkney of Lowland Scots loyal to the Stewart king might explain the frequent use of the surname Lachtane or Lauchtain (Laughton) in that region. There is a Bronze Age barrow mound in the Holm parish area of Orkney named "Laughtons Knowe". This is likely to have had an earlier name such as "Lachtane" or the Scandinavian "Lawthing" but it too has been ascribed the modern spelling of the surname Laughton.
The pronunciation of the name in Orkney also suggests that it probably shares its origin with the Irish Gaelic surname O' Lachtnain, which translates to "grey". The word "loaghtan" on the Isle of Man refers to the colour of a wool that contains elements of grey. The breed of sheep referred to as Manx Loaghtan is highly likely to have the same root as the Gaelic word "lachtnain". The name Lachtain is traceable in Ireland back to a St Laichtin in the seventh century and a church and well associated with the saint lasted until the Cromwellian era.
https://www.oldscottish.com/orkney.html
https://www.libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-lachtnain.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_Loaghtan