Scottish baby names

[ScottishBeth]

I really want to pick a Scottish name! I live in England so want something that will be relatively easily spelled and pronounced for English people (I have a Scottish surname and some people really struggle with it!).

For a boy I pretty much have my heart set on Alistair. Though will be happy for other suggestions.

The girls names I've been thinking of are:
Ailsa
Afton
Catriona (pronounced Catreena; since living in England I have known someone who pronounced her name Cat-ri-Oh-na and I couldn't bear it, thankfully not someone I saw much of).

I like Fiona but I don't even think a lot of people would read it as Scottish now, as it's so common.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

I’ve always known Catriona pronounced the way you like by Scots, the English are more likely to add the extra syllable.

Ailsa
Eilidh
Ceitidh (might be more difficult)
Caitlin
Kirsty
Isabel / Ishbel
Elspeth
Morag

Conall
Niall
Alasdair / Alistair
Fergus
Angus
Innes
Calum
Ranald

Alistair is great.

I also like Kester, Lorne, Alexander nn Sandy, Angus, Robert nn Robbie, Struan, Lachlan and Rory (although wouldn’t use the latter as so overused).

I wouldn’t use Catriona because spelling pain, Ailsa is OK, Afton sounds like an Anglo Saxon monk, and Fiona is a bit 80s Alice band.

I like Mirren, Ishbel, Iona, Elsbeth, Arran, Flora, Kirsten, Fenella, Lorna, Jean, Marsali, Agnes

Ooh Arran is lovely

Mairi is beautiful.

Morven/Morvern
Lorna
Shona
Annis

I know several Catrionas of both pronunciations and they all get them said wrongly, even after correction.

Alistair is lovely but there are so many spellings, the original Scottish Gàidhlig is Alasdair (Gàidhlig for Alexander). Ruairaidh is another lovely one, but it would be a pain to correct people all the time with so many spellings.

I have never heard of Afton.

Girls:
Morag
Kirsty
Elsie
Iona
Jeannie
Flora
Isabel
Isla
Ailsa
Kirsten/Kirsteen
Mairi
Kathleen

Boys:
Hamish
Duncan
Donald
Lachlan
Angus
Archie
Douglas
Fergus
Fraser
Cameron
Calum
Campbell
Sandy (nn for Alexander)
Malcolm
Rory

I think Fiona is still seen as Scottish, and it's very unusual in England and Wales; it's well outside the top thousand names. There were only 25 babies called Fiona in the whole of England and Wales in 2020 https://names.darkgreener.com/#fionaa*

I would not expect there to have been many in Scotland in 2020 either though, most of the Fiona's I know are 40+, I know one who is late 30s and no younger.

For a girl, Ishbel. I adore it, and I'm so full of regret that I didn't think of it for my own daughter!

I live in Scotland. Lots of Iona's and Harris in DD's year group. Fiona is less popular and hadn't actually crossed my mind it was Scottish either. Heather would be another obviously Scottish one. Plenty Islas around here too and Erin's. Donald for a boy, Cameron, Calum (one L not two)

ididnt I agree that it's an uncommon name now throughout the UK.
There were only 4 babies named Fiona in Scotland in 2020. www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/names/babies-first-names/babies-first-names-2020
But proportionately, it still is more popular in Scotland than in England and Wales. There were about 13 times more babies born in England and Wales than in Scotland in 2020 (613,936 and 46,809).

I agree with you (and livefor), however, that Fiona is seen as an old fashioned name in Scotland, though I also know one who is quite young.

Wikipedia gives some surprising figures for the popularity of the name in countries outside the UK. But I don't know how accurate that informaton is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona

livefor The name Fiona seems to have been made up by 18th cent Scottish poet James Macpherson, based on either Scottish Gaelic or Irish words.

I have never heard of Afton

It's a river in Ayrshire. Burns wrote a poem called, "Sweet Afton "

I have a relative called Afton. I also have a relative called Catriona who pronounces it as Ca-tree-na.

Don't go with Annis, op. You just know some idiots would pronounce it, "anus."

I think Senga is due a revival.

Katrina

Maureen
Sheila
Elspeth
Sheena
Myrna
Morna
Lesley
Sandra

Alexander (Alec, Alex, Sandy, Zander)
Andrew (Drew, Andra, Andy)
Maxwell (Max, Maxi)
Campbell
Hector
Hamish
Dougall/Douglas
Robert
Bruce
Lockhart

Most Scottish surnames can be used as a forename.

If you don’t like the alternative pronunciation of Catriona, don’t use it. Non Scots will absolutely not say her name as you want it pronounced. The only time my daughter is called ‘Catreena’ is when we visit family in Scotland.

For a boy, I like, and know a, Munro.

Thank you everyone - some very helpful responses!

I did some research in the past into the Catriona thing, and I found what other people have said here, that it's usually (in Scotland or Ireland) pronounced with 3 syllables, but if 4, the third is quite subtle. So I'm pleased about that. Might be best to stay away, though.

I love Elspeth - that will definitely make it onto my shortlist. Ishbel is nice too.

@scottishnames thank you for explaining about Mairi. The main thing that put me off that was the confusing you've referred to. But actually Mairi wouldn't be too difficult and is lovely. So can I ask, in a Gaelic speaking part of Scotland, do people pronounce and spell it differently depending on the context? I've never understood.

Unfortunately my DP isn't keen on Kirsty and similar names.

For boys I have to avoid certain family names - can't name my child after a cousin who's just a few years older, or after an older relative who is, honestly, not a nice person. I really like Logan and Euan. Harris and Cameron are nice too!

Thank you all!

I know it been mentioned already but I love Morven. It's gorgeous, no pronunciation issues and not overly used. Stunning.

OP Languages change depending on how people use them, and I think we can see Mairi as an example of that.

The traditional /classic spelling is Mairi. But there has been a trend in many parts of Scotland to treat Mhairi as a "more Gaelic" spelling of Mairi even though technically it isn't, and to pronounce it 'Marry' (with a long 'a') , the same as Mairi. For example, I believe that the young MP, Mhairi Black, pronounces her name that way.

There is a separate tendency to treat Mhairi (pronounced Varry) as a different name, which it isn't. But - very understandably!! - people whose parents have chosen that name think it is. So a generation - or more - has grown up thinking of the name that way.

Mairi (from the official Scottish Gaelic authority website) is here:
learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=Mairi&slang=both&wholeword=false
You will see that this website includes the "Mhairi" spelling, as a variation of the 'classical Gaelic' Mairi.

To see Mairi changed to Mhairi because of its grammatical function, here is a whole long list of examples here from the same website:
learngaelic.scot/dictionary/index.jsp?abairt=Mhairi&slang=both&wholeword=false

To answer your question, I think that people throughout Scotland use the pronouncation preferred by the person with that name. That's the only polite thing to do.

I think in Gaelic lessons, everyone would take care to be grammatical. And I think older generation Gaelic speakers, talking among themselves, might probably do the same. But in mixed company, speaking English, I think everyone would use the name as the person preferred it.

I know several people from families with a Gaelic-speaking background called Mairi. Most call themselves 'Marry', but one says 'Varry'. No-one is fazed by that.

I think the name well known and liked, not least because of Mairi Hedderwick and her lovely 'Katie Morag' books.

@scottishnames thank you! It's so interesting how language evolves! It's many years since I've lived in Scotland and I've never lived in a Gaelic speaking part, so I've never know anyone with the name. It is a lovely name, and I think it's nice however it's spelled, though I can understand how it could be frustrating if you are familiar with Gaelic grammar. If we go with this we'll spell it Mairi!

Mirren
Ailsa
Abigail
Alba
Maeve
Nora
Skye
Eilidh
Ailish

Shug
Tam

Jeannie for a girl?

I personally prefer original spellings, so if you use a Gaelic name, use the Gaelic spelling - especially for a straightforward name like Alasdair or Calum.

Catriona does have four syllables in Gaelic but the third, as someone said above, is very subtle - ca-TREE-(a)-na. But non-Gaelic speakers in Scotland usually pronounce it with three. I had a friend called Catriona in England and she didn’t seem to have any problems.

Fiona is a sort of feminisation of Fionn (anglicised as Finn). But the pronunciation of it is English - in Gaelic that spelling would be pronounced more like Feena. So it’s a kind of pseudo-Gaelic name, like Hamish or Vairi.

Morven, Brodie, Mirren

I knew a girl called Afton, it suited her.

I also knew a girl called Ishbel and folk called her Pishbell 🙈