Have you ever looked at a map of Scotland (particularly the Scottish Highlands) and thought to yourself “what is going on with these place names?” The linguistic landscape of the country reflects a rich heritage of tongues such as Pictish, Old Norse and Gaelic which have led to famously mispronounced Scottish place names.
Gaelic’s influence on our maps is particularly strong, however, as it was at its height in Scotland around one thousand years ago meaning it imparted thousands of familiar place names with Celtic elements even in the Scottish Lowlands where Scots Leid became the preferred tongue.
With a heritage totally unique to English, it is understandable why non-Gaelic speakers are beguiled by Scottish place names which - regardless of being anglicised - feature unfamiliar letter combinations and pronunciation. However, even a basic understanding of Gaelic helps us to discover the full richness of the Scots landscape; especially as nature is at the heart of the language.
By doing so, we can unlock “so much about the past” as it tells us “about landscapes, social structures, land ownership, flora” and folklore, according to Dr Simon Taylor who is a reader in Scottish Name Studies at the University of Glasgow. Dr Taylor, who learnt Gaelic in adulthood, explains: "It’s a bit like detective work to get an idea where the name came from.
"As somebody who is very interested in language and landscape it fascinates me - they are a wonderful bridge between the two."
He remarked on how Munros (a Scottish word for ‘mountains’) feature many ‘evocative translations’ and that is where many people first encounter Gaelic and ‘spark a life-long interest’ in it. For example, Ben Nevis can be translated as the ‘venomous’ or ‘malicious’ mountain in Gaelic - fitting given recent events like the lightning strike that shattered a rock structure at its peak.
Of course, we can get by without such knowledge but doing so means forfeiting landscape literacy. Scotland’s lochs, rivers, glens and hills all feature lingual heritage terms that impart a hidden lore that remains forever inaccessible to those who are oblivious to it.
To better understand this ancient relationship between people and places, here is an essential guide for beginners to get you acquainted with Scotland’s most-used Gaelic vocabulary.
Note: Stay until the end for our “wee quiz” that tests your Scottish scholarliness and, if hungry for more, go to the Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland Database or Learn Gaelic for pronunciation help.
1. Ben
Thousands of hillwalkers flock to Scotland every year for its rich mountainous landscape, so we’ll start there. Many mountain names start with “Ben” e.g., Ben Nevis, Ben Lomond, or (seen above) Ben More. Ben or “Beinn” in Gaelic broadly refers to a mountain. For example, Ben More or “Beinn Mhòr” has the Mhòr adjective which means great or big so the name can become “the big mountain” (Scotland’s own “Big Ben”?)
2. Sgurr
The term “Sgurr” refers to a high pointed hill or peak. As with latin tongues, in Gaelic adjectives follow nouns e.g., Ben More. Similarly, just as Spanish uses forms like Camino De Santiago (Way Of Santiago) we see the same here with examples like this Sgurr. Sgùrr na Cìche translates to “Peak of Breast” as Scots supposedly saw a mammary resemblance.
3. Cairns and Crags
These terms have some overlap. Cairns (“càrn” in Gaelic) denote a pile of stones but may refer to hills like the Cairngorms which are anglicised from “Càrn Gorm” i.e., the blue hill. Likewise, Crags refer to rocks, cliffs or (shockingly) rocky cliffs as seen above with Creag Mhòr (“big rocky hill”) next to the lovely Loch Gynack.
4. Tom and Cnoc
Gaelic has many words for similar concepts (e.g., forty words just for “bog”!) Here, both Tom and Cnoc refer to hillocks i.e., small hills. Tomnahurich or “Tom-Na-Hurich” is “Hill of Yew Trees” - as seen by the foliage. Meanwhile, Cnoc Glas is “Green Hillock” as seen by its colour. Cnoc is often anglicised as Knock e.g., Knockdon from “Cnoc Donn” (brown hill).