Scottish Surname Origins & Genealogy Resources



Scottish names are generally derived from one of the following:
  • Patronymics - a surname based on the name of his father
  • Occupations (Burgess) - a representtive in Parliament

  • Local features or places (Guthrie) a town in Scotland

  • Nicknames (Inglis) an Englishman.

Patronymic names account for the majority of Scottish surnames. There are a few occupational names with a few coming from Gaelic origins.

With Scottish surnames, it is worth remembering that people moved constantly between Ireland and Scotland. Roots of some Scottish surnames can be traced to the followers of William the Conqueror, to Norse and Flemish origins (present-day Belgium), and to several other countries of Europe.



Some Common Scottish surnames are:

Aitken

Alexander

Allan

Anderson

Armstrong

Austin

Bell

Black

Boyd

Boyle

Brown

Bruce

Buchanan

Burnett

Burns

Calhoun

Cameron

Campbell

Christie

Clark

Cooper

Craig

Crawford

Cummings

Cunningham

Davidson

Dickson

Docherty

Donaldson

Douglas

Duncan

Ferguson

Findlay

Fleming

Fletcher

Forbes

Fraser

Gibson

Gordon

Graham

Grant

Gray

Hamilton

Hay

Henderson

Hill

Hughes

Hunter

Jamieson

Johnston

Jones

Keith

Kelly

Kennedy

Kerr

King

Lindsye

MacDonald

MacKay

MacKenzie

MacLean

MacLeod

Marshall

Martin

Maxwell

McBride

McDonald

McGregor

Mcintosh

Mcintyre

McKay

McKenzie

MacMillan

McLaughlin

McLean

MacMillan

Miller

Milne

Mitchell

Montgomery

Moore

Morrison

Muir

Munro

Murphy

Murray

Paterson

Ramsey

Reid

Reilly

Ritchie

Robertson

Rose

Ross

Russell

Scott

Shaw

Simpson

Sinclair

Smith

Stevenson

Stewart

Sutherland

Taylor

Thompson

Walker

Wallace

Watson

Watt

White

Williamson

Wilson

Wood

Wright

Young

To find additional surnames, choose the first letter of surname:
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