Dear all, Sadly have not found any cousins in the USA as the name within my family tree only goes as far as Liverpool, ENGLAND and North Wales. However, for interest the notes below explain why the name is widespread and probably often mis-spelled!! SLOAN Variant spellings: O'Sloane, Sloyan, O'Slowey, Sloane, Sloyan or Sloyne (a rare Mayo name) & Sloane (of east Ulster) are both stated by Woulfe to be anglicized forms of O' Sluaghain, an abbreviated form of O'Sluaghadhain, which is derived primarily from the Irish word slaugh, a host, legion. He further suggests that it is a variant of O'Sluaghadhaigh (Slowey) of west Ulster, which is now a rare surname but was of importance in early mediaeval times. In north Connacht, Maelpatrick O'Slowey, who died in 1015, is described by the Four Masters as "sage of Ireland". After 1200 references to both these names are very infrequent until the seventeenth century: from there on Sloane is closely connected with Co. Down. In 1659 the census enumerators found Slowan one of the most numerous Irish names in the barony of Newry, while one Alexander Sloane is returned as a titulado in the barony of Kinelarty. Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) was borne near there, and is famous as the man whose amazingly extensive and valuable collection formed the nucleus of the British Museum: his family in Co. Down is said to have been of Scottish origin - their name would suggest that it was one of those Gaelic families which originated in Scotland before the era of authentic history. In the seventeenth century it spread into counties Armagh and Monaghan, and in modern times has become a very numerous name in the Belfast area and also in Dublin. It is well known in America, not only in the person of Tos Sloan (1874-1933), the famous jockey (whose ancestry is unknown), but famous Samuel Sloan (1817-1907), railway pioneer, and William Milligan Sloan (1850-1928), historian, who were of Ulster families. Slowey has become Molloy in counties Cavan and Monaghan though the elision of the C in Mac and aspiration of the S. Good hunting David