Scottish NamesBeyond Hamish & Heather!When it comes to Scottish names, you won't find just any one particular origin or 'style'!
That's because Scotland is an ancient country, and it's complicated history is peppered with invasions, resulting in an interesting mix of different cultures and nationalities. In Scotland, both first names (called forenames in the UK) and last names (called 'surnames'), reflect their countrys' colorful and diverse past. Scottish Names - Origins & HistoryThere's evidence that, as far back as 8500 BC, there were several different groups living in Scotland, including people who came from northern European countries such as Norway, Spain and France.The merging of these groups and cultures produced the Pictish nation, which was soon joined by the Celts - two fierce, warlike tribal societies who fought both each other, and the invading Romans, in the northern regions of Scotland. It's mainly from these two groups that the very earliest Scottish names originated. In Medieval Scotland, parents didn't have the type of freedom to choose baby names as we have today. At this time there was a fairly small pool of words considered 'acceptable' to be used as names, and parents were only allowed to pick names from that pool, so their options were limited. Over time, naming practices became more flexible and the influences of other cultures increased, and the variety of forenames increased. The results of this are seen in the diversity of Scottish names today. Genealogy has become very popular over the last few years, and many of us are interested in finding out exactly who our ancestors were... and our family name is one of the biggest clues that we have and our 'jumping off point'. But if your ancestors were Scottish, your family name may not be as helpful as you would think! That's because in Scotland, previous generations didn't apply anything resembling todays' modern naming conventions.
Combine that with the fact that fixed (or inherited) family names (known as 'last names' or 'surnames') weren't very common, and that second or 'middle' names hadn't even been thought of yet, and you'll begin to understand some of the problems people can run into once they manage to trace their family tree back a few centuries!
Scottish SurnamesThe earliest Scottish surnames were usually given based one of three different factors -
One quick look and it's pretty easy to see how quickly this situation could get confusing! In terms of occupation, obviously there would often be more than one baker, smith, shepherd etc. even in a village or small town. And, many families originated from the same village, town, area or region. Combine these problems with the limited selection of Scottish forenames and you'll understand why nicknames became common. And we're not just talking 'shorty' or 'red' or other modern-day nicknames. These nicknames often literally 'described' the person - either by his/her physical attributes 'dark haired', tall, thin etc., or by using some specific fact such as a well-know personality trait (eg. bad tempered) or specific possession (eg. a boat) to differentiate between them. As an example, a particular Thomas Smith might have been described as NOT exactly short and pithy is it? But you get the idea! The history of Scottish surnames, and how they developed and changed over time, is really interesting and you can learn all about this on my Scottish Surnames page. You can also find a list of the most common last names in Scotland between 1999 and 2001. If you're interested in choosing a Scottish first name for your baby, or want to learn more about the most popular Scottish baby names, take a look at my Scottish Boy Names and Scottish Girl Names pages. I've put together a great selection of both traditional and popular baby names, from Gaelic and Olde English to Greek, German, French and more - complete with origins and meanings. It's the best Scottish Baby Names resource around. Scottish Girl Names
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