Lynch

Lynch is a surname of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Ó Loingsigh, meaning "descendant of Loingseach," with Loingseach a personal name associated with a mariner or sailor. The name is common in Ireland and among the Irish diaspora, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. Variants attested in historical records include Lynch and Linch.

Lynch is also used as a place name. There are towns and communities named Lynch in several countries, especially in the United States, reflecting the spread of the surname and local history.

Lynching refers to extrajudicial mob violence, typically a hanging, without due process. The practice has a fraught history in the United States and elsewhere, most notably linked to racial terror against African Americans from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. The origin of the verb "to lynch" and the noun "lynching" is uncertain; a commonly cited theory traces the term to Charles Lynch, a Virginia planter who organized a court during the Revolutionary War, though etymologists debate this origin. In modern discourse, lynching is condemned and studied as a crime against humanity and a symbol of racial oppression; scholarship and civil rights movements have documented its impact and advocated legal reforms.