The Ancient Lands of Lorn (by yours truly)

Where is Lorn?
The area of Lorn, or Lorne, is a throwback to the Lands of Lorn, the area controlled by the MacDougall clan. In ancient times it was considered to be a huge tract of land for one family to control but such was the power and wealth of the clan.

While the name Lorn is in general use locally, few people actually know exactly where its boundaries are.

Lorn is divided into three areas, Upper Lorn, Mid Lorn, and Nether Lorn. From Loch Etive northwards is regarded as Upper Lorn, the land to the south of Loch Etive being Mid Lorn and the area to the northwest of Loch Awe, Loch Avich and Loch Melford forms Nether Lorn. It easy to think of Oban, Argyll as the centre of Lorn but it wasn't always so in the past.

At various times throughout Scottish history Lorn has been under the jurisdiction of the MacDonalds, Stewarts, Campbells, even now the eldest son of the Duke of Argyll holds the title Marquis of Lorn. The MacDougalls however, were the dominant force.

The name MacDougall itself has Norse connections from when the Vikings were dominant in Scotland and Ireland. "Mac" is Scots gaelic for "son" and "dubh" translate as "black" or "dark" and gall means "unknown" so MacDougall literally means the "dark stranger" This differentiated them from the fairer skinned Scots.

Nowadays Lorn and Lorne are both popular boys names with many a public house and hotel also bearing the name. The origins of the name Lorn is not clear but it's thought that it's derived from the scots Gaelic for fox, Latharn, pronounced la-urn which is anglisised to Lorn. (Land of the foxes)

The girls name Lorna was first used by Scottish author RD Blackmore in his novel "Lorna Doone" publshed in 1869.

Original article source