Trifter

Aberdeen

There are a few schools of thought on where this name comes from. One is a combination of the old Brythonic word aber (where the waters meet) and deen (referring to the river Dee). It may also come from Aberdon (where the Don meets the sea) or from Aberdoen (where the rivers Don and Dee meet each other. Aberdeen was one of the first royal burghs in Scotland (in the 12th century).

Ardrossan

The name for the place where you catch the ferry to Arran probably derives from the Gaelic airde ros an. Airde meaning ‘height’, ros meaning ‘headland’ and anmeaning ‘little’.

Arran

The isle of Arran is sometimes refereed to as ‘Scotland in miniature’. Its name comes from either the Gaelic arainn or Brythonic Aran, both of which mean ‘place of high peaks’.

Bellshill

First became known as Bellshill in the 19th century and was built on a hill on a site formerly known as Bellmill. It is named after a Mr Bell who owned a stone quarry there.

Brechin

Famed for its 14th-century cathedral. The name of Brechin itself is rather unclear. It is possibly a Pictish or Brythonic name derived from someone called Brychan or Brachan.

Buckie

The name Buckie is thought to derive either from the Gaelic bocaidh or the old Scots word buckie, both meaning ‘whelk’.

Crieff

The name Crieff means ‘place amongst the trees’ and comes from the Gaelic craoibh (meaning ‘trees’).

Dumbarton

From the 5th to 11th century, Dumbarton was the capital of Strathclyde. Of course the place should actually be called Dunbarton as it comes from the Gaelic dun breatainn, meaning ‘fort of the Britons’. Interestingly, the region around Dumbarton is called Dunbartonshire.

Dunkeld

Famed for being the final resting place of the relics of Saint Columba. The name Dunkeld derives from the Gaelic and Pictish dun (meaning fort) and the Gaelic chailleainn (meaning of the Caledonions).

Erskine

Most known for the bridge that connects Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire. The name possibly derives from the Gaelic ard sescennwhich means ‘high marsh’.

Falkirk

Is home to the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat-lift that opened in 2002. The name itself comes from the Scots word for ‘Church’ and fal means ‘field’. Put together the name Falkirk means ‘the field near the church’.

Glenrothes

The name comes from the Earls of Rothes who were local landowners in Fife. They had taken their names from the Moray town of Rothes (from the Gaelic rath, meaning ‘ringed fort’). The Glenpart of the name was added to differentiate the Fife Rothes from the Moray Rothes.

Grangemouth

Home to one of the largest oil refineries in Europe. The name itself is taken from the Grange Burn that flows into the Forth, the name refers to the grange of Newbattle Abbey.

Inverary

The name derives from the Gaelic inbhir meaning ‘mouth of the river’ and Aray, which is the name of the river that enters the loch there.

Inverkeithing

The name means ‘the mouth of the Keithing Burn’. It derives from the Gaelic inbhir (meaning ‘mouth of the river’). The Keithing possible takes it name from the Brythonic word coit, meaning ‘wood’, it is also where the place name and personal name are derived from.

Keith

The name either derives from the Pictish first name Cait or the Brythonic coit meaning ‘wood’. It has, of course also become a popular first name and second name.

Kelso

The name Kelso comes from the Old English calc how and means ‘chalk hill’. It is believed that the earliest settlement was built on (or near) a chalky outcrop.

Lanark

Lanark, where William Wallace began his campaign of resistance, takes it name from the Brythonic word llanerch which means ‘forest clearing’.

Lochgilphead

To coincide with the building of the road from Inverary to Campletown, Lochgilphead was built in 1790. Its name means exactly what it says as it was built on the head of Loch Gilp.

Lockerbie

Takes it name from a Norse settle, who settled in the area, called Locard. The bie derives from the Norse by meaning ‘village’. 

Motherwell

The name Motherwell derives its name from a well that was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Mull

The origins of the name are unclear although it has been suggested that it comes from the Gaelic meal meaning ’rounded hill’ or from the Norse muli meaning ‘headland’.

Pitlochry

Despite an obvious assumption, the name doesn’t derive from loch but from the Gaelic pit cloich aire. Pitcomes from the Pictish word pett (place) and the Gaelic cloich aire means ’sentinel stone’.

Portree

Traditionally it is said that the name derives from the Gaelic words port (meaning port or harbour) and right (meaning royal or king). However there is also a theory that says the ree derives from the Gaelic ruighead meaning ’slope’.

Scone

No not the type you eat! Scone (pronounced ’skoon’) is one of the most historic locations in Scotland and was the ancient capital of Alba. The name itself derives from the Gaelic sgonn and means ‘mound’. It is also famous for being the natural home of the Stone of Destiny (said to have been the stone that Jacob slept on in The Book of Genesis.

St Kilda

These days, St Kilda is an uninhabited island. Interestingly there is no Saint named Kilda so there is some argument as to where the name came from. Some argue that it was a misprint by Danish cartographers from the Norse skildir. There are others who believe the name comes from Childa, the name of a spring on Hirta.

Stranraer

Best known for its ferry link to Northern Ireland. The name derives from the Gaelic sron reamhar which literally means ‘fat nose’.

Strahaven

The name means ‘wide valley of the Avon’. It takes its name from the Gaelic abhainn which means ‘river’. Locally, the town is pronounced ’stray-ven’, with the letters ‘ath’ silent.

Ullapool

Contrary to what some people think, the name doesn’t refer to the town’s harbour. It actually derives from the Norse Olaf bolstadr (Olaf’s farmstead). Over time this was shortened to Olaf bol and then became anglicized to Ullapool.

Whalsay

Is the second largest of the Shetland Islands by population and is home to the most northerly golf course in Britain. The name comes from the Norse name Hvalsey and means ‘whale island’.

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