Border Clan: Difference between revisions
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Border surnames tend to be related to place names, unlike most of Scotland where patronymics are more common. "M(a)c-" surnames are extremely rare, but can be found native to Dumfriesshire. | Border surnames tend to be related to place names, unlike most of Scotland where patronymics are more common. "M(a)c-" surnames are extremely rare, but can be found native to Dumfriesshire. | ||
''' | '''Placenames'''<br> | ||
Scotland: Broomfield, Carlyle (city of Carlisle), Carruthers, Cranstoun, Graham, Hall, Laidlaw, Rutherford, Moffatt, Lowther<br> | Scotland: Broomfield, Carlyle (city of Carlisle), Carruthers, Cranstoun, Graham, Hall, Laidlaw, Rutherford, Moffatt, Lowther<br> | ||
England: Carnaby, Collingwood, Charlton, Curwen, Fenwick, Glendenning, Hedley, Hetherington, Huntley, Milburn, Mitford, Ridley, Salkeld, Selby, Witherington | England: Carnaby, Collingwood, Charlton, Curwen, Fenwick, Glendenning, Hedley, Hetherington, Huntley, Milburn, Mitford, Ridley, Salkeld, Selby, Witherington | ||
'''Patronymics'''<br> | '''Patronymics'''<br> | ||
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Scotland - Hunter, Taylor/Tailor<br> | Scotland - Hunter, Taylor/Tailor<br> | ||
England - Tailor, Turner | England - Tailor, Turner | ||
'''Celtic etymologies'''<br> | |||
A handful of names have Celtic origins, mostly on the Scottish side - Gilchrist (Gaelic: Gille Chriosd - servant of Christ), Gillespie (Gaelic: Gilleasbaig - servant of the bishop), Kerr (Gaelic: cearr - left-handed), Douglas (Gaelic: Dubh-Ghlas, dark grey) | |||
Some of the place names are also of Celtic origin such as Carlyle, Carruthers and Glendenning. The name "Scott" would have originally referred to a Gaelic speaker in an English/Scots speaking area. | |||
==Further Reading== | ==Further Reading== | ||
Revision as of 07:03, 23 August 2020
A Border Clan, also historically known as a grayne, is a family which originates in the Anglo-Scottish Border region. Many of these ended up involved in the Plantation of Ulster, where they formed a major part of the Scots Irish, and also settled in parts of North America.
Names[edit | edit source]
The historic riding surnames recorded by George MacDonald Fraser in The Steel Bonnets (1989)[1] are:
East March
- Scotland: Hume, Trotter, Dickson, Broomfield, Craw, Cranstoun.
- England: Forster, Selby, Grey, Dunn.
Middle March
- Scotland: Burns, Kerr, Young, Pringle, Davi(d)son, Gilchrist, Tait, Scott, Oliver, Turnbull, Rutherford of West Teviotdale. Armstrong, Croser, Elliot, Nixon, Douglas, Laidlaw, Routledge, Turner, Henderson of Liddesdale, Thomson, Jamieson, Hunter, Anderson,
- England: Potts, Reed, Hall, Hedley of Redesdale. Charlton, Robson, Dodd, Dodds, Milburn, Yarrow, Stapleton of Tynedale. Also Fenwick, Ogle, Heron, Witherington, Medford (later Mitford), Collingwood, Carnaby, Shaftoe, Ridley, Stokoe, Stamper, Wilkinson, Huntley
West March
- Scotland: Bell, Irvine, Johnstone, Graham, Maxwell, Carlyle, Beattie, Little, Carruthers, Moffat, Lowther,
- England: Glendenning, Hetherington, Musgrave, Curwen, Salkeld, Dacre, Harden, Hodgson, Routledge, Tailor, Noble, Storey
Some of these surnames are also connected to other parts of Scotland and England away from the Border. "Johnstone", for example, has also been used as a translation of the Highland surname MacIain, and also as a replacement for MacGregor when that surname was proscribed.
Spelling variants[edit | edit source]
Some spellings of names are associated more commonly with one side of the Border or another.
| Scottish spelling | English spelling |
|---|---|
| Carlyle | Carlisle |
| Dickson | Dixon |
| Forrester | Forster |
| Gray | Grey |
| Reid | Reed |
| Taylor | Tailor |
Name origins[edit | edit source]
Border surnames tend to be related to place names, unlike most of Scotland where patronymics are more common. "M(a)c-" surnames are extremely rare, but can be found native to Dumfriesshire.
Placenames
Scotland: Broomfield, Carlyle (city of Carlisle), Carruthers, Cranstoun, Graham, Hall, Laidlaw, Rutherford, Moffatt, Lowther
England: Carnaby, Collingwood, Charlton, Curwen, Fenwick, Glendenning, Hedley, Hetherington, Huntley, Milburn, Mitford, Ridley, Salkeld, Selby, Witherington
Patronymics
Scotland: Anderson (Andrew), Davi(d)son, Dickson (Richard), Henderson (Henry), Jamieson, Robson (Robert - the form "Robertson" tends to be from elsewhere in Scotland)
England: Dixon, Nixon, Dodd/Dodds/Doddson, Wilkinson (William)
Personal characteristics
Scotland - Armstrong, Kerr, Dunn, Gray, Little, Young, Younger
England - Dunn(e), Grey, Hodgson, Noble
Trades
Scotland - Hunter, Taylor/Tailor
England - Tailor, Turner
Celtic etymologies
A handful of names have Celtic origins, mostly on the Scottish side - Gilchrist (Gaelic: Gille Chriosd - servant of Christ), Gillespie (Gaelic: Gilleasbaig - servant of the bishop), Kerr (Gaelic: cearr - left-handed), Douglas (Gaelic: Dubh-Ghlas, dark grey)
Some of the place names are also of Celtic origin such as Carlyle, Carruthers and Glendenning. The name "Scott" would have originally referred to a Gaelic speaker in an English/Scots speaking area.
Further Reading[edit | edit source]
- MacDonald Fraser, George (1971). The Steel Bonnets. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-272746-3.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ George McDonald Fraser, pp. 56–65