What does it mean?
I'm curious to know as it is an unusual surname where I live (Ireland) so I would like to know.
What I do know is that my great-great-grandfather was Bavarian and changed his name to Loughman from Lukeman in the early 1910's so if there is any historical links there it would be much appreciated.
What I do know is that my great-great-grandfather was Bavarian and changed his name to Loughman from Lukeman in the early 1910's so if there is any historical links there it would be much appreciated.
Replies
Lochmann is a German surname, and a possible origin. However, Loughman is an Irish surname that goes back several centuries, so your ancestor may have replaced his existing name with a similar sounding Irish name. I think Lukmann is also a German surname though I'm not certain.
Loch means "hole" in modern German, though there appears to have been a similar word that meant "wood, copse". So your eponymous ancestor might have lived in a place where a hole was a prominent local feature; he might have made a living digging holes, e.g., a well-digger; or he might have lived or worked in a wood.
On the other hand if the original name was more like Lukeman, forget that lot and start again.
Loch means "hole" in modern German, though there appears to have been a similar word that meant "wood, copse". So your eponymous ancestor might have lived in a place where a hole was a prominent local feature; he might have made a living digging holes, e.g., a well-digger; or he might have lived or worked in a wood.
On the other hand if the original name was more like Lukeman, forget that lot and start again.
There are a number of other possibilities besides Lochmann and Lukmann, including Luckmann, Lückmann, Luchmann and Luchtmann, so I don't think you can get to the bottom of this without more specific genealogical data.