The Placenames of Scotland

Preface

Placenames are a constant source of debate. Who was Edwin whose name is said to live on in that of Edinburgh? Are the drum and chapel still to be found in Drumchapel? Which king had a seat at Kingseat in Perthshire? This book aims to address these and similar questions, but in the field of Scottish placenames the answers are not always what might be expected at first sight.

In their current form or forms and in their own right, placenames convey meaning whether we seek to analyse their component parts or not. As it stands, Elgin (or Eilginn in Gaelic), for instance, means the main town in Moray situated on the River Lossie, located between Lossiemouth and Rothes, and between Lhanbryde and Alves. As a word capable of analysis, Elgin breaks down into the element Eilg, from a root suggesting noble and possibly a poetic term for Ireland, and a possible diminutive ending -in. Thus Elgin is shown to be a commemorative name rather than one descriptive of its location or founder. The various Elgins throughout the world do not per se mean little Ireland, but rather suggest that their founders came from Moray and wished to remember Elgin. It may be the case that many of Scotland's Norse names in particular commemorate places in Norway rather than describe the new settlements in the new country.

The creation of names in one language superimposed upon those preceding ones have helped obscure the origin of many names and cause uncertainty and misunderstanding. Conversely, the settling in Scotland by different groups and cultures over the centuries has given the country's placenames a richness, variety and complexity absent in countries such as Iceland and Denmark where the bulk of names stem from one language only. It is beyond the scope of this book to delve into the minutiae of Scottish history, but the peoples and influences with an effect on placenames are outlined in the Introduction. Additionally, this book concentrates on names created in Gaelic or possessing a Gaelic form, as hitherto it has not been possibly to find the Gaelic names or forms of places in one accessible volume.

In order to save space in the gazetteer sections, this book lists the most common generic elements from the languages in which placenames were created. In the gazetteer section, each entry takes the following format. The current English name of a place is given in bold type followed in brackets by the name of the county or island in which it is located. If the place has a current or attested Gaelic name, that is then given in plain type. This is followed by the derivation of the name in quotation marks, followed by any other relevant comments, with cross-references to other names shown in bold. Where a placename in English form, such as Balmore, has an obviously Gaelic source, in this case Baile Mór, but where that Gaelic original is not in current usage nor found in literary sources, this is shown in the explanatory text rather than in the first line of the entry. Generally, the language(s) from which the placenames are derived are stated in the explanatory text, but where no language is given, it should be assumed that the name was created in Gaelic. In some cases a placename is explained with reference to another name, as in Strath of Pitcalnie, where readers should refer back to Pitcalnie for the derivation of that name. Finally, although for the last thirty or more years Gaelic spelling has used only a grave accent to mark long vowels, this book also uses the acute accent as an indication of pronunciation.

Some points on terminology need to be clarified. A name such as Balmaha is termed an English form rather an English name because although Balmaha is used in English to identify the village on the eastern banks of Loch Lomond, it was created originally in Gaelic and the village is known as Baile MoThatha in that language. Likewise, Siabost is termed a Gaelic form rather than a Gaelic name because although Siabost is used in Gaelic to refer to the township on the West Side of Lewis between Barvas and Carloway, it is a Norse name, from Sjábólsta∂r. The English form of that name is Shawbost which came into English via the Gaelic sound system, as did all Nordic names outside Orkney, Shetland and north-east Caithness.

A number of maps are to be found towards the end of the book, showing the distribution of peoples and of important placename elements.

This is not an academic treatise on Scotland's placenames, which lies more within the remit of the School of Scottish Studies and the recently formed Scottish Placenames Society. Rather, this is an attempt to present in accessible format a list of names of the larger settlements, islands, areas, rivers, lochs and mountains. The best sources in print, dealing with placenames at a national and local level, are given in the bibliography. In certain instances it has not been possible to work out what a name means. This is either because the sources themselves are unclear or because it is beyond the linguistic ability of the compiler.

Despite the existence of excellent publications on placenames, there is still a need for study and dissemination of information and the foundation of a state-funded Placenames Commission along the lines of that in Norway or Ireland would be a welcome development, although Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba based at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is Skye is involved in very important research and publication. Readers are direction to the Scottish Place-names Society website which is a great source of information.

Tha mi fada an comain a h-uile duine, nach gabh ainmeachadh an seo, a thug cuideachadh dhomh le bhith a' trusadh ainmean às na sgìrean aca fhèin. Cha phàigh taing sibh.

Introduction

The placenames of Scotland can be categorised in a number of ways, but for the purposes of this Introduction they will be grouped according to the language or languages in which they were created. This immediately introduces a historical element in that the various languages of Scotland, although co-existing in different areas at different periods, appeared and disappeared at different times.

With some exceptions, all of Scotland's placenames fall into one of two linguistic groupings, Celtic and Germanic, both of which are branches of the Indo-European language family. The Celtic languages themselves form two groups, Goidelic or Q-Celtic (comprising modern Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx) and Brythonic or P-Celtic (comprising modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton, as well as Pictish). The Germanic languages in which placenames in Scotland were created are English (originally Anglian) and Norse (including Danish).

The oldest names are those of major rivers in particular, as well as those of some islands, which have similarities to names in mainland Europe. These rivers were named by people or peoples who lived in what is now Scotland before the Picts or Britons settled here. The Romans were aware of the names of several of the tribes, and these are to be found on Map 1. W J Watson discusses these tribes, their names and their areas in History of the Celtic Placenames of Scotland.

Prior to the arrival of the Scots and Angles, the area north of what is now the Central Belt formed the territories of the Northern and Southern Picts, speaking P-Celtic with elements such as aber in common with the Brythonic language of the Britons to the south. The Pictish territories are shown on Map 2. The distinguishing feature of the placenames of Pictland is the element pett which means a share or portion of land, cognate with Welsh peth and Gaelic cuid. Although pett has lasted until the present in anglicised placenames as Pit-, the gaelicised forms of most such placenames have replaced pett with Gaelic baile, settlement, farm, village, although certain names in Gaelic have retained pett in the form Peit. In addition, the specifiying element in most Pit- names is from Gaelic, as in Pittyvaich. This suggests that Gaelic used pett as a generic term over a long period until it ceased to carry any lexical meaning at which time it was replaced with baile.

Contemporary with the Picts of the north were the Brythonic speaking Britons south of the Forth-Clyde line in their territories of Strathclyde, Gododdin and Rheged, also shown on Map 2. Although their territories were in the main south of the Forth and Clyde, the capital of Strathclyde was at Dumbarton. Because of the similarity between certain Gaelic and Brythonic elements, such as Gaelic dùn and Brythonic din, fort, or Gaelic eaglais and Brythonic eglwys, church, a degree of uncertainty exists in stating definitively on linguistic grounds alone in which language certain placenames were created. Brythonic placenames share certain elements in common with Pictish names, but some, such as Penpont, would be comprehensible to speakers of modern Welsh.

It is reckoned that the Gaelic speaking Scots were settled in Dal Riada in Argyll by around 450 AD, having come from the territory of Dal Riada in northern Ireland. The Scots had early contact with the Picts as recorded in Columba's visit to the northern Pictish capital at Inverness in the 6th century AD. The Angles meanwhile had founded their territory of Bernicia centred on Bamburgh in Northumberland around 550 AD, and soon began an expansion which would bring them into conflict and contact with the equally expansionist Scots. The Scots had entered early into Pictish territory and by 840 the kingdoms of the two peoples had united under the king of the Scots. By 945 the Scots had acquired the Brythonic territory of Strathclyde, and within thirty years, Lothian. At the battle of Carham in 1006, the defeat of the Angles put a temporary stop to their expansion, and by around 1050 Gaelic was at its peak and spoken over the territory of what is now mainland Scotland, with the exception of the extreme south-east and north-east.

Prior to this, the Angles had been spreading throughout the southern part of the country, gaining Rheged through marriage by around 635 and capturing the fort of Din Eidyn (now Dùn Éideann or Edinburgh) around five years later. Their expansion northwards was halted by the Picts at the battle of Nechtansmere in 685, but by the middle of the next century the Angles had control of Kyle. In the north and west the Norse had attacked Iona by around 790 and Dumbarton by 870, and had established their territories in the west and north.

The Kingdom of the Scots remained in Gaelic speaking hands until the marriage of Malcolm Canmore and Margaret in the 11th century, after which time the gradual decline of Gaelic hegemony began. The settling of fertile, low-lying lands and the setting up of burghs by speakers of English introduced that language to areas previously Gaelic speaking only.

The more recent linguistic history of Scotland is fairly well known as is the uneasy coexistence between Gaelic and English, and the entrenchment of Gaelic within the Highlands and Islands to the north and Galloway and Carrick to the south. By the beginning of the 20th century Gaelic was indigenous only in parts of the counties of Argyll, Bute, Dunbarton, Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Banff, Moray, Nairn, Inverness, Ross, Sutherland and Caithness. One hundred years later, with the exception of Gaelic speakers in mainland cities and towns, the language was continuing to be used by and regenerated at community level only in the northern Hebrides.

Because of the long-term coexistence of several languages in different parts of the country, a large proportion of placenames consists of elements from more than one of these languages. The linguistic combinations most frequently found in these hybrids are Gaelic/Norse, Gaelic/Pictish, Gaelic/English, Gaelic/Brythonic, English/Brythonic and English/Norse, as well as three-way combinations such as Gaelic/Norse/English. In the most intensively English part of the country, in the south-east, a common pattern of placename is that of a Gaelic or Norse personal name attached to English tún. Similarly, in the north-east, Gaelic personal names can be found attached to Pictish pett and in the north, English personal names can be found in combination with Gaelic baile.

A fairly unknown set of combinations came about particularly in the South-west, in which Gaelic replaced English, leading to established English names such as Mellington, Swinton and Meithbothel (now Maybole) being adopted by the Gaelic speaking population who added Gaelic affixes to these, resulting in Dalmellington, Dalswinton, Meibothelbeg and Meibothelmore. Gradually, English re-replaced Gaelc, but the names of Dalmellington and Dalswinton remained.

Another commonly encountered pattern charts the replacement of one language by another, and perhaps by another again, in which the generic of the first language, having lost lexical meaning to the speakers of the second language, is repeated with the same generic in the new language, as in Knockhill in Fife. When Fife was Gaelic speaking, the hill in question would have been named simply Cnoc, hill or An Cnoc, the hill. As Gaelic died out and was replaced by English, this would have changed to Knock to fit in with the sound system of English, and would eventually have ceased to connote a hill. However, because the place known by the name of Knock was a hill, English speakers came to define it as Knock Hill, gradually becoming Knockhill.

The change from Norse to Gaelic and then to English can be seen in Ardtornish Point in Argyll. This name was originally coined by Norse speakers as Thorirnes, Thorir's headland. As Gaelic replaced Norse, this became Tòirinis and ceased to have any lexical meaning. Gaelic speakers in turn added their word for a headland, àird, and the name became Àird Tòirinis, which meant nothing to English speakers other than being a name which they pronounced as Ardtornish. They in turn recognised the place as a headland and added their generic, point, to explain it and give Ardtornish Point, a name which now contains three languages' generic terms for a headland. This name neatly shows how one language's generic can become another's specifier. To Norse speakers, the generic was nes, headland, and the specifier Thorir. Gaelic speakers did not recognise nes as a generic and used the entire Thorirnes as a specifier, adding their own generic àird. Then English speakers, failing to perceive àird as a generic in Àird Tòirinis or Ardtornish, added their own generic point. If English were to be replaced by another language in the future, such as Turkish which might in turn add its own generic to the by then meaningless Ardtornishpoint, we would have to Ardtornishpointburnu, a name with one specifying element (Thorir) and the same generic in four successive languages (ness, àird, point, burun).

As well as placenames constructed through different languages, there can be problems in interpreting placenames from a single language due to elements or personal names which are no longer in use, and as a result of change and corruption through the passage of time. This latter point is particularly relevant when considering the placenames of marginal areas in which one language is being replaced by another, as in Braemar and Upper Banffshire in the 19th century. It is not enough to rely on current pronunciation and interpretation which may be flawed or influenced by the incoming language, although if the inhabitants of a particular area call a place by a particular name, then that name is as valid as the official or written one.

Watson is a valuable source of information on the names of Gaelic saints and of rivers, and on the subject of rivers should be read in conjunction with W F H Nicolaisen's Scottish Placenames. Much valuable work has been carried out in particular by Geoffrey Barrow, Simon Taylor, Richard Cox, Jacob King and Rob Ó Maolalaigh, with some of the latter's findings to be found in the The Uses of Placenames, edited by Simon Taylor. These newest works raise many questions which are outwith the scope of this book.

Gaelic Pronunciation

This brief guide to pronunciation gives approximate equivalents in standard Scottish English (except where otherwise indicated) for the letters and combinations of letters found in Gaelic. The Gaelic alphabet contains 18 letters (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u) but since the language has many more sounds than that, accent marks are used to indicate long vowels, h is added after most consonants to change their sound, and when consonants are combined with i or e, they become palatalised, as indicated below.

Since the issue of Gaelic Orthographic Conventions by the Scottish Examinations Board in 1981, revised subsequently by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, the acute accent mark found in á, é and ó has been replaced by the grave accent mark as in à, è and ò. This is merely a spelling convention and does not affect pronunciation. This book, however, uses the acute accent throughout as an indication of the pronunciation of names, but it should be borne in mind that the acute is obsolete and that words spelled here such as Leódhas, Géirinis and Am Baile Mór have the everyday spelling Leòdhas, Gèirinis and Am Baile Mòr.

Common Generic Elements

The generic element in a name is a general term, for example, in a name such as Newtown, the generic is town because that is the element describing the type of place under discussion, while New specifies the type of town. One might find that in the vicinity of Newtown there might be an Oldtown, in which Old is the specifier, distinguishing this town from Newtown and all other towns.

This section lists alphabetically the most common generic elements found in Scottish placenames. They are listed according to the form in which they are found in current English and Gaelic placenames and not in their form in the original language. For example, Norse vík appears under -aig, -bhaig, -vaig and -wick (its realisations in current English and Gaelic forms) rather than under the original Norse vík. In addition, it is worth noting that in Gaelic names consisting only of a generic (or a generic with an adjective), the definite article is generally used, as in Am Baile Mór, the big settlement, rather than simply Baile Mór, big settlement. In English it is unusual to use the definite article in such instances, so that Newtown is used rather than The Newtown, but some names such as The Level and The Green do exist in English.

It should be remembered that not every name ending in -a is from Norse á or øy, and that the list of generics is a general guide only which should help with the derivations in the gazetteer sections.

The lists are in the following format; firstly the generic element is given followed by the word from which it comes in the original language; in brackets is an explanation of the term in English; finally there comes an example of a placename including the generic. The following abbreviations are used: B for Brythonic, E for English or Anglian, G for Gaelic, N for Norse including Danish, and P for Pictish.

Settlements and Areas

A'Chleit (Argyll), A' Chleit.

The cliff or rock, from Norse.

Abban (Inverness), An t-Àban.

The backwater or small stream.

Abbey St Bathans (Berwick).

The abbey of St Baoithean or Bathan. The surname MacGylboythin, from MacGilleBhaoithein, son of the devotee of Baoithean, appeared in Dumfries in the 13th century, but has since died out.

Abbotsinch (Renfrew).

The abbot's meadow, from English/Gaelic, on lands once belonging to Paisley Abbey.

Aberarder (Inverness), Obar Àrdair.

The mouth of the Arder.

Aberargie (Perth), Obar Fhargaidh.

The mouth of the angry river, from fearg.

Aberbothrie (Perth).

The mouth of the deaf stream, from bodhar, deaf, suggesting a silent stream.

Abercairney (Perth).

The mouth of the Cairney, a river name from càrnach, meaning stony.

Aberchalder (Inverness), Obar Chaladair.

The mouth of the hard water, from caled and dobhar. Easter Aberchalder was formerly known as A' Cheann Mhór, the big end.

Aberchirder (Banff).

The mouth of the dark water, from ciar and dobhar. Locally this is known as Foggieloan.

Abercorn (West Lothian).

Horn-shaped river mouth, cognate with còrn, horn. It was known to Bede as Aebbercurnig, and is of Brythonic origin.

Abercrombie (Fife), Obar Chrombaidh.

Bent river mouth, from crom.

Aberdalgie (Perth), Obar Dheilgidh.

The mouth of the thorny stream.

Aberdeen, Obar Dheathain.

The mouth of the Don, a river named after a deity. Aberdeenshire is Siorrachd Obar Dheathain.

Aberdour (Fife), Obar Dobhair.

The mouth of the water.

Aberfeldy (Perth), Obar Pheallaidh.

The mouth of the Peallaidh. Peallaidh, which comes from peallach, shaggy, was an ùraisg or water sprite said to live in this stream. The town is mentioned in the saying, Trì iongantasan na h-Alba: drochaid Obar Pheallaidh, tobraichean Ghlinn Iucha is cluig Pheairt, The three wonders of Scotland: Aberfeldy bridge, the wells of Linlithgow and the bells of Perth. The August fair at Aberfeldy was known as Faidhir nan Gròiseag, the gooseberry fair.

Aberfoyle (Perth), Obar Phuill.

The mouth of the sluggish stream. Poll was borrowed as pow into Scottish English. The market at Aberfoyle was known as Féill Barachan, from Féill Bhearchain, St Barchan's fair.

Abergairn (Aberdeen), Obar Gharthain.

The mouth of the Gairn, a noisy river, the name of which comes from goir, call.

Abergeldie (Aberdeen), Obar Gheallaidh.

The mouth of the bright river.

Aberlady (East Lothian).

Rotten river mouth, from lobh, rot.

Aberlednock (Perth), Obar Liadnaig.

The mouth of the Lednock, an obscure name.

Aberlemno (Angus), Obar Leamhnach.

The mouth of the elm stream.

Aberlour (Banff), Obar Lobhair.

The mouth of the noisy or talkative stream. Aberlour Church and Parish respectively are Cill Drostain and Sgìre Dhrostain, the church and parish of St Drostan. See Charleston of Aberlour.

Abernethy (Inverness, Perth), Obar Neithich.

The mouth of the Nethy, a river name suggesting cleanliness.

Aberscross (Sutherland), Abarsgaig.

Muddy strip of land.

Abersky (Inverness), Abairsgigh.

Muddy place.

Abertarff (Inverness), Obar Thairbh.

The mouth of the bull river.

Aberuchill (Perth), Obar Rùchaill.

Although local Gaelic speakers understood this to mean mouth of the red flood, from Obar Ruadh Thuil, evidence points to this name containing coille, wood, similar to Orchill.

Aberuthven (Perth), Obar Ruadhainn.

The river mouth at the red-brown place.

Abigil (Sutherland), Àbaigil.

River-farm gully, from Norse.

Aboyne (Aberdeen), A-bèidh.

These Gaelic and English forms are unclear. The fair held here was known as Féill Mhìcheil, St Michael's Fair.

Abriachan (Inverness), Obar Itheachan.

This name was originally Obar Bhritheachan, mouth of the hill river. Bodaich Obar Bhritheachan, the old men of Abriachan, were apparently notable in the area. The area known as Cords of Abriachan are Na Cordachan, referring to a series of narrow fields. The church at Abriachan is Cill Fhìonain, St Finnan's church.

Acairseid Mhor (Eriskay, Raasay), An Acarsaid Mhór.

The big anchorage.

Acha (Argyll, Coll), An t-Achadh.

The field.

Achabeg (Skye), An t-Achadh Beag.

The small field.

Achachoish (Argyll), Achadh a' Chòis or Achadh a' Chòthais.

The field at the cave or lair.

Achachonleich (Inverness), Achadh a' Chonalaich.

This may mean the stubble field or the field at the place of the whirpool.

Achachork (Skye), Achadh a' Choirce.

Oat field.

Achadaphris (Argyll), Achadh Dà Phris.

The field with the two bushes.

Achadesdal (Ross), Acha Deuthasdal.

The field at Desdal, the latter part of which