Scottish Name Pronunciation

General Name Discussion
1

inspired by @rosepip’s irish guide!

I am scottish, so I thought I’d make a quick guide on how to pronounce some of our names, mainly to make them more accessible!
if i miss any or make any mistakes please let me know!

[name_f]Eilidh[/name_f]- AY-lee (in my accent and some others it sounds more like ay-lay though)

[name_f]Ailsa[/name_f]- ayl-SUH

[name_f]Iona[/name_f]- eye-OH-nuh

[name_f]Caitriona[/name_f]/Catriona- kah-TREE-nah (some people say cah-tree-OH-nah but it is less common)

[name_f]Beitris[/name_f] - bay-TRIS

[name_f]Ferelith[/name_f]- feh-reh-LITH

[name_f]Teasagh[/name_f]- CH-eh-szaa

[name_f]Eileen[/name_f] - EYE-leen ([name_f]Aileen[/name_f] is AY-leen)

[name_f]Eibhlin[/name_f]- EV-leen

Mhàiri- VAH-ree

[name_f]Islay[/name_f]- IYE-luh

[name_f]Bonnie[/name_f]- boh-NEE

[name_f]Alba[/name_f]- ahl-BUH

[name_f]Elspeth[/name_f]- elle-SPEH-th

[name_u]Greer[/name_u]- greeur

[name_f]Morag[/name_f]- mow-rak (the second syllable is kind of hard to describe? it’s not quite a k but it’s not a g)

[name_u]Mirren[/name_u]- mih-ren

[name_f]Murron[/name_f]- muh-rin

[name_f]Morven[/name_f]- morr-vin

[name_f]Fenella[/name_f]- FEN-elluh

[name_f]Lilias[/name_f]- lih-lee-uss

Seònaid- show-NUH

Ceitidh- kay-tee

[name_m]Alisdair[/name_m]- alice-dur

Argyll- are-guy-ull (not commonly used in scotland, as it is the name of a district here.)

[name_m]Lachlann[/name_m]- lach-lin (ch as in the sound in loch not like lock.)

[name_m]Lochlan[/name_m]- loch-lin

Rhuaridh- roo-REE (not a full ree, but more of the sound at the end of dowry)

[name_m]Seumas[/name_m]- shay-mus

if you have any more you want me to do just ask!

13 Likes
2

this is great!

also note:

it’s so interesting to see how areas pronounce things differently (assuming we’re from different areas anyway)

i’ve heard eileen and aileen as EYE-leen and AY-leen interchangeably
i’ve also met both VAH-ree and MAH-ree
and all the morags i’ve met have pronounced it with a hard g sound, rhyming with rag

but everything else is what i’ve heard too

also ceilidh = CAY-lee is one of my favourite scottish names!

2 Likes
3

yes! it’s really fascinating all the different dialects! (i was basing mine of glaswegian accents)
i know an eileen who says AY-leen, but i was just giving out standard pronunciation.

ooooh thats interesting!! i’ve met Mairis who say MAH-ree but i’ve only heard [name_f]Mhairi[/name_f] as VAH-ree

ceilidh is so cute!! i love the association of the dances

2 Likes
4

my mum is morag, and she says MOR-uk :blush: (though the last sound is sort of k sort of g ??)

5

interesting!! i wonder what dialect that one’s from, i’ve never heard that before!

1 Like
6

Oh that’s cool - I never knew that it varies! I’ve only heard the kind of like AY-lay pronunciation where we live.

7

i think they say AY-lee further north! or it might be the outside-of-scotland pronunciation

1 Like