Scottish toponymy

The toponymy varies in each region, reflecting the linguistic history of each part of the country.

Goidelic roots accounts for most place-names in eastern Scotland, with a few Anglic names in Fife and Angus and with a small number Pictish elements assimilated into the total toponymy.

Some Gaelic elements may themselves also be ultimately of Pictish or Brythonic origin, such as Obar (Aber-, meaning confluence; cf modern Welsh Aber-) and Srath (Strath-, a wide, shallow river valley; cf modern Welsh Ystrad).

Many are Gaelic, but many also derive from the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages (such as Lanark).

There are also a substantial number of place names, particularly in the east lowlands, derived from the northern dialect of Old English (see Northumbrian Old English) and later Modern Scots.