Scottish Names

Scotland names from three directions at once — Gaelic in the west and north, Norse in the isles, and Scots and Norman French in the lowlands. A Scottish name therefore tells you roughly where in the country it comes from, which is not true of English names.

Languages behind these names Gaelic Irish Scottish Gaelic uncertain Hebrew Old English

Rankings for

24 names, most popular first in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Isla Isla is a girl's name of Scottish origin, taken from Islay, an island in the Inner Hebrides, and from the River Isla in the Scottish mainland.
Scottish #28 in US
Paisley Paisley is a girl's name taken from the Scottish town, whose weavers gave their name to the swirling teardrop pattern.
Scottish #67 in US
Mackenzie Mackenzie means son of Coinneach, and the missing sound is the point — the Gaelic ends in a soft ch that English cannot spell, so the anglicized ending was written as a z that was never pronounced as one.
Scottish #228 in US
Blaire Blaire is a girl's name of Scottish origin meaning "plain" or "field", from the Gaelic blàr.
Scottish #384 in US
Bonnie Bonnie is a girl's name of Scots origin meaning "pretty" or "fine."
Scottish #396 in US
Fiona Fiona was invented by a Scottish poet, and then used as a pen name by a man — William Sharp published as Fiona Macleod for a decade and denied being her until his death.
Scottish #470 in US
Skye Skye is a girl's name taken from the Hebridean island, whose own name is disputed between a Gaelic root meaning "winged" and a Norse one meaning "cloud."
Scottish #531 in US
Mckenzie Mckenzie means son of Coinneach, and the z was never a z — it replaced a lost Scots letter called yogh, so the name has been mispronounced into its own spelling.
Scottish #576 in US
Kyla Kyla means a narrow strait if it comes from Kyle, and the Scottish word behind that names a specific kind of water — a channel between an island and the mainland, as at Kyle of Lochalsh.
Scottish #580 in US
Makenzie Makenzie means son of the handsome one, which is an odd fit for a name that is 99 percent female in our records — the Gaelic Mac is a patronymic, and it has not been reinterpreted.
Scottish #700 in US
Maisy Peaked in 2010 · 11,920 births since 1996
Scottish #745 in US
Lindsay Lindsay and Lindsey are the same place — a district of Lincolnshire that was effectively an island in fen.
Scottish #2,202 in US
Jennie Jennie began as a Scottish pet form of Jean and only later attached to Jennifer, which is a Cornish name with no connection to it.
Scottish #2,303 in US
Iona Iona is a girl's name taken from the Hebridean island where Columba founded his monastery — and the island's name exists because a medieval scribe misread a letter.
Scottish #2,684 in US
Janet Janet is a girl's name, a Scottish diminutive of Jane meaning God is gracious.
Scottish #2,797 in US
Minnie Minnie Mouse did not make Minnie popular.
Scottish #3,054 in US
Bessie Bessie is a girl's name meaning God is my oath, a pet form of Elizabeth.
Scottish #6,909 in US
Mirren Mirren is a girl's name taken from a male Irish saint, by way of a Scottish football club, and its meaning has never been settled.
Scottish #7,723 in US
Eilidh Eilidh is a girl's name of Scottish Gaelic origin, generally taken as the Gaelic form of Helen and meaning "bright" or "shining one."
Scottish #8,851 in US
Mairi Peaked in 1981 · 2,181 births since 1974
Scottish #16,494 in US
Rhona Peaked in 1951 · 3,652 births since 1915
Scottish 3,652 births
Ailsa Ailsa is a girl's name from Ailsa Craig, the volcanic island in the Firth of Clyde that supplies the granite for nearly every curling stone in the world.
Scottish 3,110 births
Ailidh Peaked in 2009 · 224 births since 1982
Scottish 224 births
Marsaili Peaked in 2017 · 30 births since 1976
Scottish 30 births

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