Nice Scottish place names

General Name Discussion
1

I was looking at a map of [name]Scotland[/name] this morning and suddenly realised that there are a lot of beautiful place names for beautiful places in [name]Scotland[/name] that would make totally legitimate names. Here are some of the nicer ones I spotted (I’ve only included places which are actually nice places to visit IMHO!).

Islands off the west coast of [name]Scotland[/name]:

[name]Lewis[/name]

[name]Harris[/name]

[name]Skye[/name] (for a girl)

[name]Islay[/name] (pronounced EYE-la or EYE-lay depending where you grew up)

[name]Arran[/name] (sort of like ARE-ran, although some people might say AYR-ran)

[name]Iona[/name] (EYE-Ohna)

Tiree ([name]TY[/name]-[name]REE[/name], I’ve heard this for a girl - I think it’s beautiful!)

[name]Ailsa[/name] (ALE-sa, for [name]Ailsa[/name] [name]Craig[/name], the massive rock/island in the [name]Firth[/name] of [name]Clyde[/name])

Various other place names that have a nice ring to them:

[name]Nairn[/name] (For the town on the north coast of [name]Scotland[/name]. Sort of like Nair-nh, said in one syllable - I’ve seen this once for a boy and once for a girl.)

Corran (For the ferry port village near-ish [name]Fort[/name] [name]William[/name] & Glencoe. Sort of like Corr-an, again, almost one syllable. I think it would suit a boy although I’ve never seen it in use.)

[name]Isla[/name] (EYE-la, for Glenisla, in [name]Angus[/name])

Clova ([name]CLO[/name]-va, for [name]Glen[/name] Clova in [name]Angus[/name] - I’ve seen this for a girl)

[name]Angus[/name] (for the region, self explanatory)

My favourites are [name]Skye[/name] & Tiree but I have a good friend who used Tiree so I could never bring myself to copy. Wish I’d thought of it first! Anyway, just thought I’d share my Scottish list in case it inspires anyone else. Would love to see any additions that I’ve missed.

[name]EDIT[/name] - I’m adding ‘Rannoch’ to this list after my friend’s newborn nephew!

2

I love [name]Lewis[/name], [name]Isla[/name], [name]Harris[/name] and [name]Skye[/name]:slight_smile:
[name]How[/name] about,
Hebride (group of islands)
[name]Clyde[/name] (firth of clyde)
Solway
Sanday
[name]Cara[/name]
[name]Danna[/name]
[name]Fara[/name]
[name]May[/name]
Ronay
[name]Rona[/name]
Ulva
Taransay
Vaila
[name]Ninian[/name]
[name]Lorn[/name]
Crowlin
[name]Munro[/name]
[name]Ailsa[/name]
[name]Craig[/name]
Rosyth
Heliar
Ristol
[name]Maree[/name]
Serf
[name]Elgin[/name]

Towns
[name]Paisley[/name] -love this one
[name]Hamilton[/name]
[name]Stirling[/name]
[name]Irvine[/name]
Rutherglen nn [name]Ruth[/name]
Lanark

3

I like [name]Elgin[/name] too, almost had it on my list.

As for some of the towns, having lived in [name]Scotland[/name] and knowing how industrial some of these towns are I just couldn’t bring myself to consider them as first names, [name]Paisley[/name] in particular, although it sounds lovely to me it would be akin to naming my child after Buffalo, NY…although I’m sure the people of [name]Paisley[/name] would take issue with that!

New Lanark is a gorgeous world heritage site boasting a stunning historic mill village.

[name]Hamilton[/name] is sort of like a suburb of [name]Glasgow[/name] - just makes me think of the motorway and traffic tail backs!

[name]Stirling[/name] could go either way, the castle is beautiful, as is the surrounding countryside but the town itself is a bit of a dive.

I haven’t been to [name]Irvine[/name] or Rutherglen but I think they are both fairly industrial. At least [name]Irvine[/name] is near the sea.

Place names are funny for what they bring to mind aren’t they!

4

[name]How[/name] about [name]Carlisle[/name] and [name]Cooper[/name] for boys? [name]Both[/name] are towns.

5

My cousin’s name is [name]Elgin[/name]. It never occurred to me to ask about its origin!

Out of this list, I especially like [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Iona[/name].

6

As I am from [name]Scotland[/name] many of the names have negative connotations for me- for example, [name]Irvine[/name] and [name]Paisley[/name] aren’t the prettiest of places so I would definitely not consider them as names for my babies! Incidentally, before I left my school for maternity leave I was working near [name]Paisley[/name] and many years ago I worked in [name]Irvine[/name] :slight_smile:

[name]Gracie[/name]

7

Anyone know about place names in [name]Ireland[/name]??? I don’t have an [name]Ireland[/name] map, but was wondering if anyone could do the same for [name]Ireland[/name].
Thanks!

8

[quote=“canadianne”]

I like [name]Elgin[/name] too, almost had it on my list.

As for some of the towns, having lived in [name]Scotland[/name] and knowing how industrial some of these towns are I just couldn’t bring myself to consider them as first names, [name]Paisley[/name] in particular, although it sounds lovely to me it would be akin to naming my child after Buffalo, NY…although I’m sure the people of [name]Paisley[/name] would take issue with that!

New Lanark is a gorgeous world heritage site boasting a stunning historic mill village.

[name]Hamilton[/name] is sort of like a suburb of [name]Glasgow[/name] - just makes me think of the motorway and traffic tail backs!

[name]Stirling[/name] could go either way, the castle is beautiful, as is the surrounding countryside but the town itself is a bit of a dive.

I haven’t been to [name]Irvine[/name] or Rutherglen but I think they are both fairly industrial. At least [name]Irvine[/name] is near the sea.

Place names are funny for what they bring to mind aren’t they![/quote]

Ha totally get that! Was watching sky sports earlier (a very rare occurence) and they had scottish teams two of which were
Brechin and [name]Albion[/name]

Got me thinking about Irish county since that’s where I’m from (ha laughed when I read your post rkarczynski, great minds think alike)

[name]Clare[/name] (a cousin named after this county)
[name]Kerry[/name]
[name]Tyrone[/name]
Kildare

Sort of pushing it now, from here I wouldn’t count these as names below but that could be because of my association with them so i’ll put them down anyway?
Meath
Limerick
[name]Dublin[/name]
Wicklow
Wexford
[name]Carlow[/name]
Louth
Monaghan
[name]Cavan[/name]
Longford
Laois
[name]Cork[/name]
Tipperary
[name]Galway[/name]
[name]Mayo[/name]
Roscommon
Sligo
[name]Donegal[/name]

Islands:
[name]Arran[/name]
Inis
[name]Canon[/name]
[name]Achill[/name] (irelands biggest island)
Coney

Towns
Ardagh (Are- Da)
Ardee
Arklow
Avoca
Athea
Ashford
Ballina
[name]Caragh[/name]
[name]Cashel[/name]
Dingle
Durrow
[name]Ennis[/name]
[name]Glen[/name]
[name]Lucan[/name]
Navan
[name]Quin[/name]

9

I am an american, married to a scottish guy, and living in [name]Scotland[/name]…our second son is named [name]Arran[/name], and I love it! He is almost 3, and I still get a thrill out of saying it…although I cant roll the "r"s like my husband can!

10

[name]Arran[/name] - I love it!

[name]Just[/name] curious, how do you as an American pronounce your son’s name? I’m Canadian (also married to a [name]Scot[/name] and living in [name]Scotland[/name]) and I find that I say [name]Arran[/name], [name]Aaron[/name], and [name]Erin[/name] all pretty much the same.

I think the way Scottish people say [name]Arran[/name] is much nicer than the way they say [name]Aaron[/name], which always sounds like they’re saying ‘ay-[name]RON[/name]’ to me! Does your husband say it sort of like ‘ARE-ran’ for [name]Arran[/name]?

11

I was born and raised on the [name]Isle[/name] of [name]Arran[/name] in [name]Scotland[/name], (possbily one the most beautiful places on earth i believe) i now live in [name]Canada[/name] with my husband and have always loved the thought of naming my child [name]Arran[/name] but… i hate the way Canadians say it! It does sound like [name]Erin[/name] and that’s just not right!! haha

12

I’ve met a lot of Ionas in the UK recently. Interesting.