There is no strict legal definition of what constitutes a town in Scotland, with different local authorities using different metrics to define them over the years.
It’s certainly not the case the towns are always smaller than cities – a total of 12 towns are home to more people than Scotland’s smallest city of Stirling.
Meanwhile, the Highland settlement of Dingwall is classed as a town, even though it has a population smaller than the village of Bishopton (whose suffix would suggest it was a town).
Here’s how Scotland’s largest 13 towns got their names – and the people, topography and etymology behind them.
Meanwhile, the Highland settlement of Dingwall is classed as a town, even though it has a population smaller than the village of Bishopton (whose suffix would suggest it was a town).
9. Ayr
Formerly known as 'Inverair', meaning 'mouth of the River Air', it was later abbreviated to just Ayr, which comes from a pre-Celtic word meaning 'strong river'. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
The bridge that Coatbridge is named after used to span the Gartsherrie Burn, where Coatbridge Cross now sits. The 'Coat' part of the name could come from the Scots word 'cot' meaning 'cottage' or refer to the Colt family who owned the land around the town un the 13th century. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
Legend has it than Greenock get its name from a large 'green oak' tree on the banks of the Clyde, but language experts think that it comes from the Gaelic word grianág, meaning 'a sunny knoll', or 'graenag', meaning 'gravelly' and being descriptive of the foreshore. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
The name Glenrothes comes from the Earl of Rothes, who owned the land on which the town was built in the 1940s. The 'Glen' was added to differentiate it from Rothes in Moray and refers to the fact that the town lies in a valley. Photo: Canva/Getty Images