Scottish Surnames and their Origins

[Graham]

Northern italian surname "Scotti", for example, derived from medieval mercenaries used by Lombardy, Venice and Savoie-Piemont.

Quite diffused surname, btw.

The name Scotland comes from latin Scotti, A roman word for the Irish raiders. So there could be a link of some sort.

Or perhaps a link with Duns Scotus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duns_Scotus

"The Kingdom of the Picts just became known as Kingdom of Alba in Gaelic, which later became known in English as Scotland; the terms are retained in both languages to this day. By the late 11th century at the very latest, Scottish kings were using the term rex Scottorum, or King of Scots, to refer to themselves in Latin."

Graham, does the clan system in Scotland come from the Scots or the Picts?

Picts and the Scots both probably.

[Ánleifr]

Picts and the Scots both probably.

Thanks....I was just wondering since they don't really have the clan system in Ireland like they do in Scotland and the Scots came from Ireland.

[Weedman]

Is there a way to tell if a Scottish surname originated with the Scots, Picts, Normans, Anglo-Saxon or Norse? Would it be accurate to assume that most "Mc" and "Mac" prefixes came over from Ireland with the Scots?

surnames by themselves dont have as much info as you think. The best thing is to do a Y-DNA test (if you are a male) to decide the true origin of your Scottish surname
many "Mac" names dont have Atl-Celtic Y-DNA at all and there are also many that have a Celtic Y-DNA type found common in Scotland that pre-date the arrival of the Gaels.

My own surname sounds Germanic, but my Y-DNA is a marker of a Brythonic-Celtic speaker, who was in Scotland (Ayrshire) even before the arrival of the Scotti/Gaels

many Norse settlers in the Isles and NE Highlands adopted Gaelic culture and assimilated before surnames well established. Not to mention the people in the NE who adopted the Norman surname of the local landlord that immigrated there as well.
Many people of the lowlands who were descendants of the Celts in those areas assimilated and adopted the surname system of groups like the Northumbrians and Normans

Plus the fact that many traditional Gaelic/Highland names were Anglicized as people migrated to the Lowlands at various stages.

The book called The Scots: a genetic journey is a good place to start. It shows how most of the Chiefs of Clan MacDonald have Norse/Viking Y-DNA and how many MacGregors have a Celtic marker that pre-dated the arrival of the Gaels and is not hardly found at all in Ireland (Pictish)

The Britons, Picts, Scots, Northumbrians, and Norse were all significant populations in Scotland long before the arrival of the surname system there, and they would have adopted to the particular culture/naming system that was prevalent in their regional area.

Many people from the western Lowlands, especially Galloway have gaelic/Irish Y-DNA though many of the surnames common to that area come from Old Scots, not Gaelic.

Even a surname like Wallace in Scotland can mean a native Old British/Welsh speaker (Strathclyde), which was still being spoken by a minority of the population in the western Lowlands at the time the surname system began to take root there in the early middle ages.

IMO,If you want to know the true origin of your particular Scottish surname, the best way is to do DNA testing and to look up all the info you can find on the surname and how it relates to Scottish history.
Even surnames that are similar but are historically from different regional locations in Scotland can have entirely different histories and origins.

[Nihtgenga]

How common is the surname Dowell in Scotland?

[Nehellenia]

My recent family surnames are McDougall, Ruthven, Annand, McDonald and Traill, All Norse and Norman derived, only MacGregor is gaelic. Mac doesn't necessarily refer to Gaelic origin, it depends who the clan progenitor was, Mac simply denotes 'son of' like O' does.

[Nihtgenga]

Dougall and Dowell have the same origins I believe?

[Nehellenia]

Thanks....I was just wondering since they don't really have the clan system in Ireland like they do in Scotland and the Scots came from Ireland.

Western Scots are primarily Gaelic

[Nehellenia]

Dougall and Dowell have the same origins I believe?

I don't think so, Dowell sounds Norman to me.

[Thor2009]

I was talking to someone in the chatbox yesterday who said that I looked Scottish.
I told them that I didn't have many Scottish names in my family, showed him my family tree, and to my surprise, more of the names were Scottish that I thought.

I guess they don't all start with Mac/Mc, then.
Had no idea that "Young" and "Thompson" could be Scottish, rather then English.

[Balmung]

My first name is Gaelic.