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.
13. Airdrie
There are three different theories on th Gaelic orgins of the name of Airdrie. The first is that it comes from the phrase 'an ard ruigh', meaning 'high pasture land'. The second is that it comes from ''an ard airighe', meaning 'a shepherd's hut'. A third idea is that it comes from 'ard reidh', meaning 'a high plain'. Photo: Canva/Getty Images