Medieval Scottish Names: 82 First Names and Surnames by Layer

Medieval Scottish names come in three layers: Gaelic names like Duncan, Malcolm, Fergus and Donald; Norman names brought north by incoming lords, like William, Robert, Walter and the surnames Bruce, Balliol and Comyn; and Scots and English names like Edgar, Edward and Stewart. By the Ragman Rolls of 1296 the commonest first names in Scotland were John, William, Robert, Thomas and Adam, much like England, by our count of the 1834 index, while the Gaelic names sat further down and the Norman families held the land.

This is for anyone researching a Scottish family name, writing a story set in the Wars of Independence, or picking a baby name with a few hundred years of Scotland behind it. You get a finder for 82 first names and surnames, a layer label on every one, the top names of 1296, and the 2025 baby counts from National Records of Scotland.

A wee bit of history first. St Margaret, an English princess, married the Gaelic king Malcolm III and gave her sons English and biblical names, and under David I Norman and Flemish families came to power in Scotland and kept their French names. Meanwhile the south-east spoke the English that became Scots. Every name below belongs to one of those layers, or to the Church, which gave everyone its saints.

What were the most common medieval Scottish names?

John, William, Robert, Thomas and Adam, in that order, in the Ragman Rolls of 1296. The Gaelic names that people now think of as most Scottish were there, just much less often. This is the top of our count of the index, with the 2025 baby numbers for comparison.

Name	Layer	Ragman Rolls 1296 (index mentions)	Scotland 2025 (babies)
John	Church	410	50
William	Norman	260	80
Robert	Norman	138	61
Thomas	Church	120	155
Adam	Church	103	114
Walter	Norman	87	8
Henry	Norman	75	60
Richard	Norman	69	5
Andrew	Church	63	47
Hugh	Norman	55	13
Gilbert	Norman	52	none recorded
Patrick	Church	46	44
Duncan	Gaelic	25	16
Malcolm	Gaelic	7	12

Two things to notice. Adam, fifth in 1296, is still doing well, with 114 babies in 2025. And Gilbert, eleventh in 1296, did not make the 2025 list at all. The Ragman Rolls recorded the nobles and landholders who swore allegiance to Edward I of England in 1291 to 1292 and again in 1296, so they lean towards the landed, Norman-influenced end of society, not the whole country.

The Gaelic layer

Gaelic names are the oldest layer in this guide, and the one most people mean by a Scottish name. In 1296 they show up mainly among the landholders of the west and the north.

Duncan

Gaelic Donnchadh, with donn, dark or chief, as the first part. The Latin clerks wrote Duncanus, and that is how it appears in the 1296 index, 25 times, the most of any Gaelic first name we checked. Sixteen babies in Scotland got Duncan in 2025. Our Scottish first names beginning with D has its modern Gaelic forms.

Malcolm

Devotee of St Columba, from Máel Coluim. The name of Malcolm III, Margaret’s husband, but only seven mentions in the 1296 index. Twelve babies in 2025.

Angus

One plus choice. Wikipedia notes the historian Alex Woolf’s view that the Gaelic Oengus was borrowed from the Pictish Onuist. It is not in the Ragman index under that name, but it is doing better now than most medieval names: 112 babies in Scotland in 2025.

Somerled

Somerled, who died in 1164, was a Norse-Gaelic lord, Somairle in Middle Irish and Sumarliði in Old Norse. His name is a braw (fine) reminder that the Gaelic layer had Norse threads running through it in the west.

Campbell

A surname, from Gaelic cam, crooked, and beul, mouth, so crooked mouth. A Dunkan Cambel, with Campbel as a variant, is in the Ragman index under the county of Fife. Today Campbell is among the most common surnames in Scotland. More in our Scottish last names beginning with C.

Douglas

From Gaelic dubh glas, black stream, a place name before it was a family name, and there are many places called Douglas. It appears in the 1296 index as Duglas. Our Scottish last names beginning with D covers the family.

Murray

From Moray, an English form of Medieval Gaelic Muireb. The b was said as v, which is why the Latin form is Moravia, as Wikipedia explains. The most indexed of the surnames we checked, as Moray and Morref. See the Scottish last names beginning with M.

The Norman layer

From David I onwards, Scottish kings gave land to Norman, Breton and Flemish knights. Their family names came from places in France and England, and by 1296 they ran much of the country.

Bruce

From a place in Normandy or Brittany: Wikipedia suggests Briouze, Brix or Bruz. The index lists Robert de Brus, lord of Annandale, and Robert de Brus, earl of Carrick, both under 1296. More in our Scottish last names beginning with B.

Comyn

Norman or Flemish, possibly from a place near Rouen. The Comyns played a major role in 13th-century Scotland and the Wars of Independence, and the 1296 index is full of them, from John Comyn, earl of Buchan, to a Marjerie Comyn in the county of Berwick. Our Scottish Norman surnames guide has the wider family of incomers.

Hay

From La Haye in Normandy, from a word for a hedge. A Scoto-Norman family, found in the index as de la Haye. See the Scottish last names beginning with H.

Fraser

Uncertain, but the family is believed to have come from Anjou in France in the 11th century. The Ragman scribes wrote it Fresel and Frasel. The Scottish last names beginning with F picks up the clan.

Graham

An Anglo-French form of Grantham in Lincolnshire, an English place name. A good example of how a Norman family name can carry English roots. The Scottish last names beginning with G covers it.

Sinclair

From Saint-Clair in France. The index has a Johannes Seint Cler of Hirdmanston, written Seincler in the French rolls, which is already close to the modern spelling.

Wallace

Anglo-Norman French for a Welshman. The 1296 index has several men called le Waleys, including an Adam le Waleys in the county of Ayr. See the Scottish last names beginning with W.

The Scots and English layer

English came into Scotland twice: as the everyday speech of the south-east, which grew into Scots, and through the royal family. St Margaret, of the English House of Wessex, married Malcolm III and named her sons Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and David. Three of them, Edgar, Alexander and David, became Kings of Scots.

Edgar

Wealth plus spear, an Old English royal name. King Edgar of Scotland reigned from 1097 to 1107. Our Old English names guide covers the English kings who shared it.

Stewart

From steward, the officer who ran the king’s household, possibly Old English stigweard or Gaelic Stiùbhart. Walter fitz Alan, an Anglo-Norman baron, became Steward of Scotland in the 1100s and the title became the surname. A Richard Stiward of Cranston is in the 1296 index. The Scottish last names beginning with S has the family.

Keith

Often from Keith in East Lothian, a place name. Written Keth in the 1296 index. See the Scottish last names beginning with K.

Maxwell

Mack’s spring or stream, from a place near Melrose first recorded in 1144 as Mackeswell. A Border name, and a Scots one through and through.

From the Ragman Rolls to the Stewarts

The names in this guide cover roughly two centuries. In 1296 the Bruces, Balliols and Comyns were all swearing allegiance to Edward I in the same rolls. A generation later, Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, married Walter, High Steward of Scotland, and their marriage gave rise to the House of Stewart. Their son became King Robert II, the first Stewart monarch, and a household job title had become a royal name.

That is the canny (shrewd) bit of Scottish naming: Gaelic, Norman and Scots names were never separate boxes. A Norman family could carry an English place name (Graham), a Norse-Gaelic lord could carry a Norse first name (Somerled), and a steward could end up on the throne. If you want to go further than 1296, the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which run from 1326, are the next big source, though we did not count names in them here.

Which medieval Scottish names are still used today?

Plenty of the first names are still given to Scottish bairns (children). These are the National Records of Scotland counts for 2025, for names that appear in the 1296 index or in Margaret’s family.

Name	Layer	Babies in Scotland, 2025
James	Church	199
Thomas	Church	155
Alexander	Church	151
Adam	Church	114
Isabella	Church	114
Angus	Gaelic	112
William	Norman	80
Alice	Norman	75
Michael	Church	71
Robert	Norman	61
Henry	Norman	60
David	Church	58
Fergus	Gaelic	59
John	Church	50
Andrew	Church	47
Patrick	Church	44
Edward	Scots and English	30
Duncan	Gaelic	16
Margaret	Church	14
Malcolm	Gaelic	12
Walter	Norman	8

For surnames, two of the families here are still near the top: Campbell and Stewart are both in Scotland’s ten most common surnames, at 0.77 and 0.73 per cent of people in the UCL figures quoted on Wikipedia.

How to choose a medieval Scottish name

1. Pick the layer first. Gaelic for the west and the Highlands, Norman for a landed family in the south, Scots and English for the Lothians and the Borders.
2. For a story set around 1296, use the index favourites. John, William, Robert, Thomas and Adam are what the clerks wrote most; Duncan and Patrick add a Scottish edge.
3. For a baby, look at the 2025 numbers. Alexander, Adam, Angus and Fergus are medieval and in steady use; Malcolm and Duncan are rarer but far from forgotten.
4. Mix layers if it suits. Real people did, as you’ll ken (know): Robert the Bruce had a Norman surname and a Norman first name, and his grandson founded the Stewarts.

Quick list: 82 medieval Scottish names

Name	Type	For	Layer	Meaning or origin	Medieval record	Scotland 2025
Adam	First name	Man	Church	earth, soil	Ragman Rolls 1296 (103)	114
Agnes	First name	Woman	Church	pure, holy	Ragman Rolls 1296 (3)	5
Alexander	First name	Man	Church	defender of men	Ragman Rolls 1296 (19)	151
Alice	First name	Woman	Norman	noble	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	75
Andrew	First name	Man	Church	manly	Ragman Rolls 1296 (63)	47
Angus	First name	Man	Gaelic	one + choice	Royal or chronicle name	112
Aymer	First name	Man	Norman	uncertain	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	none recorded
Balliol	Surname	Family	Norman	from Bailleul in Picardy	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Balliol)	n/a
Barclay	Surname	Family	Norman	from Berkeley; the family’s origin is debated	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Berkeley)	n/a
Bernard	First name	Man	Norman	bear + brave	Ragman Rolls 1296 (7)	4
Brice	First name	Man	Church	possibly speckled	Ragman Rolls 1296 (4)	none recorded
Bruce	Surname	Family	Norman	from Brix or Briouze in Normandy, or Bruz in Brittany	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Brus)	n/a
Campbell	Surname	Family	Gaelic	cam beul, crooked mouth	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Cambel)	n/a
Comyn	Surname	Family	Norman	Norman or Flemish; possibly from a place near Rouen	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Comyn)	n/a
Crawford	Surname	Family	Scots and English	crow + ford	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Crauford)	n/a
David	First name	Man	Church	beloved	Ragman Rolls 1296 (28)	58
Donald	First name	Man	Gaelic	world ruler	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	8
Dougal	First name	Man	Gaelic	black stranger	Ragman Rolls 1296 (4)	none recorded
Douglas	Surname	Family	Gaelic	dubh glas, black stream	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Duglas)	n/a
Duncan	First name	Man	Gaelic	dark or chief + uncertain	Ragman Rolls 1296 (25)	16
Edgar	First name	Man	Scots and English	wealth + spear	Royal or chronicle name	none recorded
Edmund	First name	Man	Scots and English	wealth + protection	Ragman Rolls 1296 (4)	3
Edward	First name	Man	Scots and English	wealth + guardian	Royal or chronicle name	30
Ethelred	First name	Man	Scots and English	noble + counsel	Royal or chronicle name	none recorded
Euphemia	First name	Woman	Church	well spoken	Ragman Rolls 1296 (1)	22
Fergus	First name	Man	Gaelic	man + strength	Ragman Rolls 1296 (9)	59
Fleming	Surname	Family	Norman	a Flemish incomer	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Fleming)	n/a
Fraser	Surname	Family	Norman	uncertain; the family is thought to come from Anjou	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Fresel, Frasel)	n/a
Geoffrey	First name	Man	Norman	god + peace	Ragman Rolls 1296 (9)	none recorded
Gilbert	First name	Man	Norman	pledge + bright	Ragman Rolls 1296 (52)	none recorded
Gillespie	First name	Man	Gaelic	bishop’s servant	Royal or chronicle name	none recorded
Godfrey	First name	Man	Norman	god or good + peace	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	none recorded
Gordon	Surname	Family	Scots and English	from Gordon in Berwickshire	Ragman Rolls 1296 (de Gordon)	n/a
Graham	Surname	Family	Norman	an Anglo-French form of Grantham in Lincolnshire	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Graham)	n/a
Gray	Surname	Family	Scots and English	grey, probably the hair	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Gray)	n/a
Gregory	First name	Man	Church	watchful	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	none recorded
Hay	Surname	Family	Norman	from La Haye in Normandy, a hedge	Ragman Rolls 1296 (de la Haye)	n/a
Henry	First name	Man	Norman	home + ruler	Ragman Rolls 1296 (75)	60
Hugh	First name	Man	Norman	mind, spirit	Ragman Rolls 1296 (55)	13
Ingram	First name	Man	Norman	from Frankish Angilram	Ragman Rolls 1296 (3)	none recorded
Isabel	First name	Woman	Church	a form of Elisabeth	Ragman Rolls 1296 (7)	132
James	First name	Man	Church	supplanter	Ragman Rolls 1296 (22)	199
John	First name	Man	Church	God has been gracious	Ragman Rolls 1296 (410)	50
Keith	Surname	Family	Scots and English	often from Keith in East Lothian	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Keth)	n/a
Kennedy	Surname	Family	Gaelic	Gaelic Cinnéide	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Kenedy)	n/a
Kenneth	First name	Man	Gaelic	handsome (Cainnech), or from Cináed	Royal or chronicle name	6
Kerr	Surname	Family	Scots and English	possibly Cumbric caer, a fort, or a marsh	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Ker)	n/a
Laurence	First name	Man	Church	man from Laurentum	Ragman Rolls 1296 (9)	5
Lindsay	Surname	Family	Norman	from Lindsey in England, island of Lincoln	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Lindeseye)	n/a
MacDougall	Surname	Family	Gaelic	son of Dougal, dark foreigner	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Dugald)	n/a
Malcolm	First name	Man	Gaelic	devotee of St Columba	Ragman Rolls 1296 (7)	12
Margaret	First name	Woman	Church	pearl	Ragman Rolls 1296 (7)	14
Margery	First name	Woman	Church	a form of Margaret, pearl	Ragman Rolls 1296 (5)	none recorded
Marion	First name	Woman	Church	little Mary	Ragman Rolls 1296 (2)	none recorded
Maurice	First name	Man	Church	from Mauretania	Ragman Rolls 1296 (9)	none recorded
Maxwell	Surname	Family	Scots and English	Mack’s spring or stream, near Melrose	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Maxwell)	n/a
Michael	First name	Man	Church	who is like God?	Ragman Rolls 1296 (26)	71
Montgomery	Surname	Family	Norman	from Montgommery in Normandy	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Mungumery)	n/a
Murray	Surname	Family	Gaelic	from Moray, Gaelic Muireb	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Moray, Morref)	n/a
Nicholas	First name	Man	Church	victory of the people	Ragman Rolls 1296 (48)	22
Patrick	First name	Man	Church	nobleman, patrician	Ragman Rolls 1296 (46)	44
Peter	First name	Man	Church	stone, rock	Ragman Rolls 1296 (31)	11
Philip	First name	Man	Church	fond of horses	Ragman Rolls 1296 (16)	5
Ralph	First name	Man	Norman	counsel + wolf	Ragman Rolls 1296 (37)	13
Ramsay	Surname	Family	Norman	uncertain	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Rammeseye)	n/a
Ranald	First name	Man	Gaelic	a Gaelic form of Ronald	Ragman Rolls 1296 (3)	none recorded
Ranulf	First name	Man	Norman	counsel or house + wolf	Ragman Rolls 1296 (9)	none recorded
Reginald	First name	Man	Norman	counsel + ruler	Ragman Rolls 1296 (8)	6
Richard	First name	Man	Norman	ruler + strong, brave	Ragman Rolls 1296 (69)	5
Robert	First name	Man	Norman	fame + bright	Ragman Rolls 1296 (138)	61
Roger	First name	Man	Norman	fame + spear	Ragman Rolls 1296 (13)	none recorded
Ross	Surname	Family	Gaelic	promontory, headland	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Ros)	n/a
Scott	Surname	Family	Scots and English	a Scot, from the Border clans	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Scot)	n/a
Seton	Surname	Family	Norman	from Sai in Normandy, via Seton in East Lothian	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Seton)	n/a
Simon	First name	Man	Church	listen	Ragman Rolls 1296 (14)	none recorded
Sinclair	Surname	Family	Norman	from Saint-Clair in France	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Seint Cler)	n/a
Somerled	First name	Man	Gaelic	Norse Sumarliði; a Norse-Gaelic name	Royal or chronicle name	none recorded
Stewart	Surname	Family	Scots and English	steward, the king’s household officer	Ragman Rolls 1296 (Stiward)	n/a
Thomas	First name	Man	Church	twin	Ragman Rolls 1296 (120)	155
Wallace	Surname	Family	Norman	Anglo-Norman French for a Welshman	Ragman Rolls 1296 (le Waleys)	n/a
Walter	First name	Man	Norman	power, rule + army	Ragman Rolls 1296 (87)	8
William	First name	Man	Norman	will, desire + helmet	Ragman Rolls 1296 (260)	80

FAQ about medieval Scottish names

What were common medieval Scottish names?

In the Ragman Rolls of 1296 the commonest first names were John, William, Robert, Thomas and Adam, followed by Walter, Henry, Richard and Andrew. Gaelic names such as Duncan, Patrick, Fergus and Malcolm appear too, but less often. For women, Margaret and Isabel are the most mentioned.

What are some medieval Scottish surnames?

Medieval Scottish surnames include Norman names such as Bruce, Balliol, Comyn, Hay, Fraser, Sinclair and Graham; Gaelic names such as Campbell, Douglas, Murray and Ross; and Scots names such as Stewart, Keith, Maxwell and Crawford. Many appear in the Ragman Rolls of 1296.

Are Scottish names Gaelic or Norman?

Both, plus Scots and English. Gaelic gave names like Duncan, Malcolm and Campbell. Norman families brought Bruce, Comyn and Hay after David I gave them land. English and Scots gave Edgar, Stewart and Maxwell. The Church gave John, Andrew, Patrick and Margaret to everyone.

What were medieval Scottish girl names?

Medieval Scottish women in the 1296 index include Margaret, Isabel, Alice, Margery, Agnes, Marion and Euphemia. St Margaret, Malcolm III’s queen, is the most famous Scottish Margaret of all. Isabella, the modern form of Isabel, was given to 114 girls in Scotland in 2025.

Final thoughts on medieval Scottish names

If you want one name that sums up medieval Scotland, it is probably Robert: Norman in origin, third in the Ragman Rolls, carried by the Bruce who won the kingdom and by the first Stewart king. For a surname, Stewart does the same job, a Scots word for a job that turned into a dynasty.

For the wider picture, with Domesday and the 1381 poll tax beside the Ragman Rolls, go back to the medieval names guide linked at the top. And for the English names Margaret brought north, the Anglo-Saxon names guide is the place to start.

Sources

• Instrumenta Publica (the Ragman Rolls), Bannatyne Club, 1834, Internet Archive scan: index of names counted October 2026
• Wikipedia, Ragman Rolls
• National Records of Scotland, Babies’ first names 2025 (released 26 May 2026)
• Wikipedia, Saint Margaret of Scotland
• Wikipedia, Marjorie Bruce
• Wikipedia, Walter fitz Alan
• Wikipedia, Somerled
• Wikipedia, Angus (given name), and articles on Duncan, Malcolm, Kenneth, Fergus and Donald
• Wikipedia, Gillespie (surname)
• Wikipedia, Bruce (surname), and surname articles for Campbell, Douglas, Murray, Wallace, Stewart, Graham, Keith, Maxwell, Crawford, Gordon and others
• Wikipedia, Clan Cumming (Comyn), and clan articles for Hay, Fraser, Lindsay, Seton and Barclay
• Wikipedia, List of most common surnames in Europe (Scotland, UCL figures)
• Wikipedia, Exchequer Rolls of Scotland