100 Cool Scottish Last Names

Scottish last names do not just serve as identifiers—they are themselves centuries of history and culture.

Whether they are surnames developed from ancient clans, geographical features, or occupations, each speaks of Scotland’s rich past.

Noble MacGregors, fierce MacDonalds, industrious Stewarts, and cunning Frasers-they all have a story to tell.

In this post, we will take a closer look into the etymology, meanings, and intriguing mythology behind some of the most iconic Scottish surnames.

Scottish last names

Abernathy – From the Scottish place name meaning “mouth of the Nethy River.”

Armstrong – Meaning “strong of arm,” often associated with warriors.

Baird – Meaning “bard” or “poet,” possibly referring to a storyteller.

Barclay – Derived from the Old English for “birch wood clearing.”

Bell – Possibly referring to a bell ringer or derived from a place name.

Blair – From the Gaelic “blàr,” meaning “plain” or “battlefield.”

Boyd – From the Gaelic “Buidhe,” meaning “yellow” or “fair-haired.”

Buchanan – Meaning “house of the canon,” from a place in Stirlingshire.

Burns – Meaning “brook” or “stream,” associated with poet Robert Burns.

Cameron – From the Gaelic “cam sròn,” meaning “crooked nose.”

Campbell – From “cam beul,” meaning “crooked mouth.”

Chalmers – Meaning “chamberlain” or keeper of a chamber.

Chisholm – From a place name meaning “cheese island.”

Clark – Meaning “clerk” or “scribe.”

Cochrane – From a place name in Renfrewshire.

Colquhoun – Meaning “narrow corner” or “nook.”

Compton – Meaning “valley settlement.”

Cumming – Derived from the Breton “Cam,” meaning “bent” or “crooked.”

Davidson – Meaning “son of David.”

Douglas – From “dubh glas,” meaning “dark water.”

Duncan – From “Donnchadh,” meaning “brown warrior.”

Dunlop – Meaning “muddy hill” from a place in Ayrshire.

Elliot – Meaning “the Lord is my God.”

Erskine – From a place meaning “green rising ground.”

Ferguson – Meaning “son of Fergus,” with Fergus meaning “man of force.”

Forbes – Meaning “field” or “area of land.”

Fraser – Possibly from the French “fraisier,” meaning “strawberry.”

Galloway – Named after the Galloway region of Scotland.

Gordon – From a place name meaning “spacious fort.”

Graham – From the place name Grantham in England.

Grant – Meaning “tall” or “great.”

Gunn – Derived from the Norse “Gunni,” meaning “warrior.”

Hamilton – From a place name meaning “crooked hill.”

Henderson – Meaning “son of Henry.”

Hunter – Occupational name for a hunter.

Innes – From the Gaelic “Innis,” meaning “island.”

Keith – Meaning “wood” or “forest.”

Kennedy – Meaning “ugly head” or “helmeted chief.”

Kerr – Meaning “left-handed” or “swamp dweller.”

Lamont – From the Norse “Logmaðr,” meaning “lawman.”

Leslie – From a place name meaning “garden of holly.”

Lindsay – From the place name Lindsey in England.

MacDonald – Meaning “son of Donald,” with Donald meaning “world ruler.”

MacGregor – Meaning “son of Gregor,” with Gregor meaning “watchful.”

MacKenzie – Meaning “son of Coinneach,” with Coinneach meaning “handsome.”

MacLeod – Meaning “son of Leod,” a Norse personal name.

MacMillan – Meaning “son of the bald one.”

Munro – Meaning “from the River Roe” or “man from the Scottish highlands.”

Sinclair – From the Norman French “Saint-Clair.”

Stewart – Meaning “steward” or “keeper of the estate.”

Ainslie – From a place name in Scotland, meaning “hermitage meadow.”

Anderson – Meaning “son of Andrew.”

Bannerman – Occupational name for a flag bearer in battle.

Black – Derived from the Gaelic “dubh,” meaning “dark” or “black-haired.”

Borthwick – From a place name in Midlothian.

Bowie – From the Gaelic “buidhe,” meaning “yellow-haired” or “fair.”

Brodie – Possibly from the Gaelic “brothaig,” meaning “ditch” or “mire.”

Bruce – From the French “de Brus,” associated with Robert the Bruce.

Caddell – Meaning “battle” or “warrior.”

Carmichael – From a place name meaning “fort of St. Michael.”

Carnegie – From “cairn na ghiadh,” meaning “fort of the geese.”

Carruthers – From a place in Dumfriesshire meaning “fort of Rydderch.”

Christie – Meaning “follower of Christ.”

Cockburn – Meaning “rooster stream” or “river of the cock.”

Crichton – From a place name meaning “rocky settlement.”

Culbertson – Meaning “son of Culbert,” with Culbert meaning “famous and bright.”

Dalrymple – From a place name meaning “field of the crooked pool.”

Dewar – Meaning “pilgrim” or “keeper of a relic.”

Drummond – From the Gaelic “druim,” meaning “ridge” or “hill.”

Dunbar – From a place name meaning “fort on the hill.”

Farquhar – Meaning “dear one” or “beloved.”

Fenton – Meaning “marshy farmstead.”

Findlay – Meaning “fair hero” or “white warrior.”

Fleming – Meaning “from Flanders,” referring to Flemish settlers.

Forrester – Occupational name for a forester or woodsman.

Galbraith – Meaning “foreign Briton,” referring to Britons who settled in Scotland.

Galt – Meaning “wild” or “boar.”

Gillespie – From the Gaelic “Gille Easbaig,” meaning “servant of the bishop.”

Glendinning – From a place name meaning “valley of the little fort.”

Govan – From the Gaelic “gobha,” meaning “smith” or “metalworker.”

Haig – From a place name meaning “enclosure” or “fenced land.”

Halliday – Meaning “holiday” or “festive time,” possibly referring to a servant who had holidays off.

Hume – From the Old English “holm,” meaning “island” or “dry land in a marsh.”

Inglis – Meaning “Englishman,” used for Anglo-Saxons living in Scotland.

Jamieson – Meaning “son of James.”

Jardine – From the French “jardin,” meaning “garden” or “orchard.”

Keith – From a place name meaning “wood” or “forest.”

Kincaid – From a place name meaning “head of the battle.”

Kinloch – From the Gaelic “ceann loch,” meaning “head of the loch.”

Laidlaw – Possibly meaning “one who follows the law” or from a place name.

Lyle – From the Old French “l’Isle,” meaning “the island.”

MacArthur – Meaning “son of Arthur,” with Arthur possibly meaning “bear man.”

MacCallum – Meaning “son of Columba,” referring to St. Columba.

MacFarlane – Meaning “son of Bartholomew.”

MacLachlan – Meaning “son of Lachlan,” with Lachlan meaning “from the land of lakes.”

MacNab – Meaning “son of the abbot.”

MacRae – Meaning “son of grace” or “prosperity.”

Menzies – From a place name meaning “place of the monks.”

Nesbitt – From a place name meaning “nose-shaped hill.”

Rutherford – From a place name meaning “cattle ford.”