Lorne, sometimes spelt Lorn, is a district of Western Scotland. The principal town is Oban. Like many names of districts, it is derived from a population group, Scottish Gaelic Latharna. Interestingly, this is also the origin of Larne, Co. Antrim.
This street is part of a group of four Scottish names in the area between Lisburn Road and the railway. The others are Edinburgh Street, Melrose Street and Meadowbank Street / Place. It is possible that these are purely geographical references. However, John J Marshall has suggested that Melrose Street honours Sir Walter Scott (Marshall, Belfast Telegraph, 26/02/1941). It is possible that the same applies to Lorne Street. Edith of Lorn is an important character in Scott's poem The Lord of the Isles (1815) and features as one of the sculptures on the lower part of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.
The minutes of the Town Improvement Committee of Belfast Corporation on 24 December 1895 indicate the naming of six new streets off the Lisburn Road: Sandringham Street, Lorne Street, Northbrook Street, Edinburgh Street, Melrose Street and Donnybrook Street.