Scottish surnames
Scottish surnames are
History
The earliest surnames found in Scotland occur during the reign of
Categorisation
Patronymics
Many Scottish surnames originate from names that were originally
The earliest patronyms recorded in Scotland are written in several different languages. In early
There are several
The use of patronyms died out in the Lowlands after the 15th century, as they became solidified as surnames.
Territorial names, topographical names
Many of the first surnames recorded in Scotland were those of nobles, or great landowners, whose surnames derived from the lands they possessed.[8] These names are sometimes called territorial names,[8] or habitation names.[9] Many of these surnames were brought to Scotland by Anglo-Normans, whose surnames were derived from either lands in Normandy or in England (for example, Bruce is derived from Brix in Manche, France,[10] Crawford is derived from Crawford, South Lanarkshire, in the south of Scotland, Barton is derived from Dumbarton, or the several villages and towns in England, and Graham is derived from Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England).[11] Not all territorial surnames are derived from lands owned by their bearers.[8] In some cases such names were borne by tenants, or followers, of the owners of the lands they lived on. In this way the bearers of these surnames may not have had any kinship with the landowners (the surname Gordon is an historical example of such a name).[8]
Some Scottish surnames are derived from vague geographical locations rather than specific places.[12] These names are sometimes called "topographic names".[9] These names refer to physical features, like forests, streams, and marshes; such names may also refer to man-made structures, such as castles and churches[9] (for example the surnames Wood, Milne, and Shaw).[12] Sometimes names derived from proper names of geographical features can be classified as topographic names rather than habitational names. This is because these names refer to a location rather than a specific settlement.[9]
Occupational names
Many surnames are derived from the occupations, or
Bynames
Bynames, to-names, or other names,[note 5] were once very common in Scotland.[17] These names were used in areas where there were few names in circulation, and the bynames were added onto the name of person, in order to distinguish them from others who bore the same name. Bynames were particularly prevalent in fishing communities in the northeastern part of Scotland,[17] but were also used in the Borders and the West Highlands.[6] In some cases within fishing communities, the names of fishing boats were tacked onto the names of people in order to differentiate them from others.[13]
Examples of Scottish surnames derived from nicknames are: Little; White; and Meikle (which means "big"). One of the most common Scottish surnames is Campbell, which is derived from the Gaelic Caimbeul, meaning "crooked-mouth".[13] Another common Scottish surname is Armstrong, which means the son of a strong man.
Regional names, or ethnic names
Some Scottish surnames can be classified as either "regional names" or "ethnic names".
Scottish clans
Many Scottish surnames are the names of
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the clan name of the MacGregors was outlawed, and members of the clan were forced to assume other names. When the bans were lifted once and for all, some of the clan resumed using forms of MacGregor—but not all.[18][note 9] In some cases, the name of a clan may be identical to the surname of another family, yet there is no etymological link between the employed surname, and there is no historical connection between the different families (for example, the Hebridean/Kintyre surname Brodie is not connected to the surname of the Brodies of Brodie, who were centred in Moray).[23][note 10] Similarly, a surname derived from a patronym, may be used by numerous unconnected families descended from a like-named individual (for example, the bardic family of the surname MacEwan employed by the Campbells are not connected to the MacEwens of Otter).[26][note 11] Historian Charles Ian Fraser stated in his history of the Clan Munro that the bond between clansman and chief cannot in every instance have been that of a common blood.[27]
Scottish heraldry
Influences
Gaelic
Not all surnames that begin with the prefix Mac- are truly derived from patronyms. Forms of the surnames MacBeth and MacRae are derived from the Gaelic personal names Mac-bethad and Mac-raith. The prefix in such cases means "pupil", "devotee", "disciple".[32] (Other examples can be found under the section Occupational Surnames). Also, not all names beginning with the prefix are derived from Gaelic personal names; in areas along the Lowland border, the prefix was added to the diminutives of non-Gaelic personal names ending with the suffix -ie (for example, McRitchie, MacWillie). Other Lowland, or English, diminutives of personal names ending with the suffixes -on, and -in, were borrowed by Gaelic speakers (for example Rankin to Macrankin, Gibbon to Macgibbon).[33]
Norse
In the northern Hebrides, many of the indigenous surnames are derived from
Anglo-Normans
Nearly all the surnames brought to Britain by the Normans were territorial names derived from lands on the continent. In some families where patronyms were used, once a man acquired lands in Britain he would assume his surname from these lands. Norman patronyms were made up of mainly three types of names:
The name Fraser (Gaelic Friseal) has a unique etymology; it originally derives from the French fraise, meaning strawberry.[36]
Most common surnames
The top twenty
- Smith (1.28%) (occupational name)
- Brown (0.94%) (nickname)
- Wilson(0.89%) (patronym)
- Robertson (0.78%) (patronym)
- Thomson (0.78%) (patronym)
- Campbell (0.77%) (nickname)
- Stewart (0.73%) (occupational name)
- Anderson (0.70%) (patronym)
- Scott(0.55%) (ethnic name)
- Murray (0.53%) (territorial name)
- MacDonald(0.52%) (patronym)
- Reid (0.52%) (nickname)
- Taylor (0.49%) (occupational name)
- Clark (0.47%) (occupational name)
- Ross (0.43%) (territorial name)
- Young (0.42%) (nickname)
- Mitchell (0.41%) (patronym; nickname)
- Watson (0.41%) (patronym)
- Paterson (0.40%) (patronym)
- Morrison (0.40%) (patronym)
Extinction
While the total bearers of specific surnames have grown in number over the years, such as the names of the most dominant clans, some Scottish surnames have
Surname changes
Anyone whose
Scottish surnames as given names
In recent years, names that have been traditionally surnames have been used as given names, particularly in North America. These names are sometimes given to both males and females (for example, the given name Mackenzie, taken from the Scottish surname Mackenzie, is given to girls more than boys in North America;[41] another North American given name used for both sexes is Cameron derived from the surname Cameron).[42]
The male name 'Douglas' has become very popular throughout the commonwealth countries, and is derived from the Douglas clan.
See also
- List of Scottish Gaelic surnames, Scottish Gaelic surnames and their English equivalents
- Scottish Gaelic personal naming system
- Welsh surnames, the surnames of Wales
- Cornish surnames, the surnames of Cornwall
- Manx surnames, the surnames of the Isle of Man
- History of Scotland, and Scotland in the High Middle Ages
Notes
- ^ In names where filius is implied, it is sometimes difficult to know whether the name refers to a Dugald who is actually a son of Nigel, or if he is just a Dugald who is descended in several generations from a Nigel.[3]
- ^ Both Macrath, and Gilmychel, were recorded as being from Dumfriesshire.[5]
- ^ This names equates to Modern Scottish Gaelic: Iain Ruadh mac Iain mhic Eòghainn mhic Dhùghaill mhic Iain; or in English: John the Red, son of John, son of Ewen, son of Dougal, son of John.
- ^ Several hundred years before she would have been known as Agnes 'the maker of belts and girdles', rather than Agnes 'the baker of cakes'.[12]
- ^ From the Old English tō-nama.[17]
- eponymous ancestor, Domhnall mac Raghnaill.
- ^ From the beginning of the 16th century, as tenants of the Earl of Seaforth, the native clans of Lewis followed the Mackenzies. An account of Lewis, written in about 1750, states: "the common inhabitants of Lewis are Morisons, McAulays and McKivers, but when they go from home, all who live under Seaforth call themselves Mackenzies".[20] The Campbells are known to have swallowed the names of several smaller clans that they dominated over, such as in the case of the MacIvers of Lergachonzie sometime after the mid 16th century.[21]
- Cumins reads: Cuminich clach nan cearc ("Cumins of the hen-trough"), to distinguish certain renamed families from the lineal Cumins of the clan.[18]
- Act of Parliament in 1603. The proscription was rescinded in 1661, but revived in 1693; it wasn't abolished once and for all until 1784.[22]
- ^ The bardic MacEwans are actually MacDougalls, or possibly O'Hoseys.[7][26]
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Black 1946: pp. xix-xx.
- ^ a b Reaney 2006: Introduction: Scottish surnames
- ^ a b c d Black 1946: pp. xxiv-xxv.
- ^ Thomason 1834: p. 124.
- ^ Thomason 1834: pp. xxiv-xxv.
- ^ a b c Scottish Surnames and Variants, ScotlandsPeople (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk), retrieved 5 August 2010
- ^ a b Black 1946: p. xlii.
- ^ a b c d Black 1946: pp. xxv-xxvii.
- ^ AskOxford.com, archived from the originalon 17 January 2013
- ^ Blakely 2005: p. 5.
- ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "Graham".
- ^ a b c d Nicolaisen 1986: p. 96.
- ^ a b c Bowie, Neil; Jackson, G. W. L. (2003). "Surnames in Scotland over the last 140 years". www.nrscotland.gov.uk. National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ Black 1946: pp. xxviii-xxix.
- ^ docx). Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surname "McPherson".
- ^ a b c Black 1946: pp. xxx-xxxii.
- ^ a b c d Black 1946: pp. xxxvii-xxxviii.
- ^ Clan Donald USAGenetic Genealogy Project, Clan Donald USA Genealogy Project (dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org), retrieved 31 August 2010
- ^ Mackenzie 1903: p. 64.
- ^ Campbell of Airds 2000: pp. 238-240.
- ^ Black 1946: pp. 505–506.
- ^ Black 1946: pp. 104-105.
- ^ Mac Giolla-Domhnaigh 1923: p. 4.
- ^ MacLysaght 1996: p. 246.
- ^ a b Campbell of Airds 2000: p. 7.
- ISBN 0-7179-4535-9.
- ^ a b Burnett 1997: p. 41.
- ^ Who is a member of a clan?, Court of the Lord Lyon (www.lyon-court.com), retrieved 31 August 2010
- ^ Campbell of Airds 2004: p. 186.
- ^ Campbell of Airds 2000: p. 235.
- ^ Bannerman 1996: p. 20.
- ^ Black 1946: pp. xxxviii-xl.
- ^ Graham-Campbell; Batey 1998: pp. 71–72.
- ^ Black 1946: pp. xliv-xlv.
- ^ Clann ’ic Shimidh (Litir Bheag 67) by Ruairidh MacIlleathain.
- Significance, 5 (4), The Royal Statistical Society: 189–192
- ^ Henderson 1910: p. 57.
- ^ "Recording Changes of Forename(s) and Surname(s) in Scotland", www.nrscotland.gov.uk, National Records of Scotland, retrieved 14 October 2016
- ^ "Leaflet RCN1: Recording changes of forename(s) and surname(s) in Scotland" (pdf), www.nrscotland.gov.uk, National Records of Scotland, retrieved 14 October 2016
- AskOxford.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2010. which cited Concise Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.
- AskOxford.com. Retrieved 8 September 2010.[dead link] which cited Concise Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.
- Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-585-06064-4
- Black, George Fraser (1946), The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New York: New York Public Library
- Blakely, Ruth M. (2005), The Brus Family in England and Scotland 1100-1295, ISBN 1-84383-152-X
- Burnett, Charles J.; Dennis, Mark D. (1997), Scotland's Heraldic Heritage; The Lion Rejoicing, Edinburgh: The Stationery Office
- ISBN 1-902930-17-7
- ISBN 1-902930-18-5
- ISBN 1-84158-253-0
- ISBN 978-0-585-12257-1
- Harrison, Henry (1918), Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2, London: The Mortland Press
- Henderson, George (1910), The Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland, Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons
- Mac Giolla-Domhnaigh, Padraig (1923), Some Anglicised Surnames in Ireland, Dublin: The Gael Co Operative Society
- Mackenzie, William Cook (1903), History of the Outer Hebrides, Paisley: Alexander Gardner
- MacLysaght, Edward (1996), More Irish families (New, revised, and enlarged ed.), Portland: Irish Academic Press
- ISBN 978-0-87972-339-2
- Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), London: ISBN 0-203-99355-1
- Thomson, Thomas, ed. (1834), Instrumenta Publica Sive Processus Super Fidelitatibus Et Homagiis Scotorum Domino Regi Angliae Factis, A.D. MCCXCI-MCCXCVI., Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club