Scottish Names

Ossian, or Osian, from the Old Irish name Oisin, was the son of Finn in Irish legend that was transformed into a Scottish hero in the Ossianic poems of James Macpherson in the eighteenth century--which also popularlized Oscar, Fingal, Selma and Malvina.

Craig is a single-syllable baby-boomer name, still common in its native Scotland, but most modern Americans would prefer something like Kyle.

Arran Island (not to be confused with the Aran Islands in Ireland) is a large island in Scotland's Firth (or bay) of Clyde. Attractive name, long popular in Scotland, but elsewhere would be forever be mixed up with Aaron.

Pronounced MAW-rayt or ma-REYD, Mairead is close enough to Maureen to be accepted here. The name became popular in Ireland due to admiration for the saint of that name. Peig and Peigi are its Irish-language nicknames.

Two prominent literary namesakes make Gregor a somewhat risky choice. On the highbrow side, there's Gregor Samsa, the Kafka character who woke up one day to find himself turned into a cockroach. And then there's Gregor Clegane, one of the most feared and purely evil characters in the world of Game of Thrones.

One of the first generation of cool surname names, now largely used for girls in the US, but still popular for boys in its native Scotland. A prominent association for Brits is former prime minister Tony Blair, who was leader at the time of the Iraq War.

Kenna is the Scottish version of Kendra, both of which are feminine versions of Kenneth. Used in the TV show Reign for one of the supporting characters.

This Katherine variation, used through Ireland and Scotland, is pronounced like Katrina. The name became popular after the Crusaders brought home stories about the colorful fourth century martyr, Catherine of Alexandria. Its later popularity increased following the success of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 Catriona, the sequel to Kidnapped.

Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.

One of those names like Pamela, Vanessa and Wendy, Lorna was invented for a particular literary character--the protagonist of the 1869 novel Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore--and then perpetuated as the name of a shortbread cookie. The author claimed to have based it on the Scottish place-name, Lorn. In baby name limbo for quite some time, it was chosen by Judy Garland for her younger daughter, Lorna Luft. Lorna Simpson is an important contemporary American artist.

Made famous by former child star Macaulay Culkin, one of the more popular Mac names.

This ancient royal Scottish name had a brief vogue in midcentury America, but it would be far from a fresh choice for a baby boy now.

Innis is the name of an island (and Gaelic word for island) which became a Scottish surname and clan name before being used as a first. It hasn't been heard much in the U.S., but could attract more attention with the growing popularity of Latin s-ending boys' names such as Atticus.

Excellent candidate for use as an undiscovered surname name. Niven is the Anglicized spelling of the Irish name Naomhan, a diminutive of the word naomh which means saint. This handsome but unusual name was given to only six boys in the US last year. Your parents may be familiar with actor David Niven.

The attractive Euan and Ewan are just coming onto the U.S. radar, via actor Ewan MacGregor and Harry Potter's Euan Abercrombie.

Also spelled Aulay in Scotland, this is an attractive form of the Scandinavian name Olaf that blends several currently fashionable sounds.

The seventh most common surname in Scotland, once associated only with soup, is now being considered as a last-name-first choice, accessible but unusual.

Finola, the readily accessible version of some of the more problematic Gaelic versions of the name, would make a welcome addition to the stockpot of Irish girls' names.

Torquil, is a quirky but intriguing option that evolved from an ancient Scandinavian nameand was imported into Scotland by the Vikings. The Gaelic form of the name is Torcaill.

This ancient royal Scottish name and its equally-correct spelling French variation Stuart had a brief vogue in midcentury America--it was Number 286 in 1955--dropped off the list completely in the nineties.