Scottish last names: 130+ clan names and surnames
135 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest
The most common Scottish last names are Smith, Brown and Wilson, while the best-known clan names include Campbell, MacDonald and Stewart. Mac is Gaelic for son, so MacDonald means son of Domhnall, and Mc is only a shortened spelling of Mac, not a sign of Irish or Scottish origin.
This page has 130+ real Scottish surnames with the meaning and origin of each: the most common names in Scotland, Highland Mac clans, other Highland clans, Lowland and Border families, -son names, trades and church names, Norse and Norman surnames, and names that are not said the way they are spelled. Clan names were also taken by tenants and followers, so sharing a clan surname does not always mean descent from the chief.
Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks
Cunningham
From a district of north Ayrshire; Earls of Glencairn
Jardine
From French jardin, garden; an Annandale family
Forbes
From lands in Aberdeenshire; old rivals of the Gordons
Auchinleck
Gaelic for field of the flat stones; say AFF-leck
Gilmour
Gille Moire, servant of the Virgin Mary
Wilson
Son of Will, a pet form of William
Scottish name tools
Find the Gaelic form of a first name, see a clan surname in Gaelic for a man and for a woman, and work out the names the old Scottish naming pattern gives a family's children.
Gaelic and English first names
- Alasdair · Alexander, Alistair · man
- Aonghas · Angus, Aeneas, Innes · man
- Coinneach · Kenneth · man
- Dòmhnall · Donald · man
- Dùghall · Dougal · man
- Eachann · Hector · man
- Eòin · John · man
- Fearchar · Farquhar · man
- Gilleasbaig · Archibald, Gillespie · man
- Iain · John, Ian · man
- Raghnall · Ranald, Ronald · man
- Ruairidh · Rory, Roderick, Derrick · manSay ROO-uh-ree
- Seumas · James, Hamish · manSay SHAY-muss
- Somhairle · Sorley, Somerled, Samuel · man
- Torcall · Torquil · man
- Tormod · Norman · man
- Aileas · Alice · woman
- Anabla · Annabella · woman
- Annag · Annie, Anna · woman
- Barabal · Barbara · woman
- Beasag · Bessie · woman
- Brìde · Bridget · woman
- Cairistìona · Christina · woman
- Catrìona · Catherine, Catriona · womanSay kuh-TREE-uh-nuh
- Ciorstaidh · Kirsty · woman
- Ealasaid · Elizabeth · woman
- Eilidh · Helen, Ellen, Ellie, Ailie · womanSay AY-lee
- Eubh · Eve · woman
- Fionnaghal · Flora, Fiona, Fenella · woman
- Floireans · Florence · woman
- Flòraidh · Flora · woman
- Iseabail · Isabel, Isobel, Ishbel · woman
- Labhra · Laura · woman
- Leitis · Letitia · woman
- Lìosa · Lisa · woman
- Magaidh · Maggie · woman
- Mairead · Margaret · woman
- Màiri · Mary, Mhairi · womanSay MAH-ree
- Marsaili · Marcella, Marjorie · woman
- Marta · Martha · woman
- Moibeal · Mabel · woman
- Mòrag · Morag, Marion, Sarah · woman
- Muireall · Muriel · woman
- Oighrig · Effie, Euphemia, Henrietta, Erica · woman
- Olibhia · Olivia · woman
- Peigi · Peggy · woman
- Seonag · Joan, Shona · womanSay SHO-nak
- Seònaid · Janet, Jessie, Shona, Seona · woman
- Simeag · Jemima · woman
- Sìne · Jane, Jean, Sheena · woman
- Siubhan · Joan · woman
- Siùsan · Susan · woman
- Teasag · Jessie · woman
Hamish and Mhairi come from the Gaelic vocative, the form used to call someone: a Sheumais, a Mhàiri. Pronunciations are given only where a source records them.
A surname in Gaelic, for a man or a woman
- A man
- MacDhòmhnaill
- A woman
- NicDhòmhnaill
- As printed in our sources.
- The name
- Named for Dòmhnall mac Raghnaill, a grandson of Somerled.
- Chief's motto: Per mare per terras, by sea and by land. Clan history
Sharing a clan surname links you to the clan, but it does not prove descent from the chief.
The traditional naming pattern
Many Scottish families named the first three sons after the father's father, the mother's father and the father, and the first three daughters after the mother's mother, the father's mother and the mother. Type the family's names to see who each child would be named for.
- First sonJohnAfter the father's father
- Second sonAlexanderAfter the mother's father
- Third sonWilliamAfter the father
- First daughterMargaretAfter the mother's mother
- Second daughterJanetAfter the father's mother
- Third daughterElizabethAfter the mother
A tradition, not a rule: ScotlandsPeople says some families kept to it strictly and others ignored it, and a study of 24,000 records from the 1700s found no definite proof it was followed. It faded during the 1800s.
Most common Scottish surnames
Scotland's top 20 surnames in the 2025 birth, marriage and death registers, in order (National Records of Scotland). Smith, Brown and Wilson have held the top three places in every year on record.
- Smith US #1: A metalworker at the forge; Scotland's most common surname
- Brown US #4: Old English brun, for someone with dark hair or skin
- Wilson US #14: Son of Will, a pet form of William
- Thomson US #1,427: Son of Thom, short for Thomas; the usual Scottish spelling
- Campbell US #48: Gaelic caimbeul, crooked mouth; the clan of the Dukes of Argyll
- Robertson US #185: Son of Robert; the clan is also called Donnachaidh
- MacDonald US #752: Son of Domhnall, world ruler; once Lords of the Isles
- Mitchell US #47: From Michel, a medieval form of Michael
- Young US #34: Nickname for a junior, the son who shared his father's name
- Watson US #87: Son of Wat, a pet form of Walter
- Morrison US #262: Son of Maurice, or Gaelic Mac Gille Mhoire, servant of Mary
Highland Mac clan names
Mac means son of. Each clan name points to a founding ancestor, often a Gaelic or Norse chief.
- MacLeod US #4,393: Son of Leòd, from Norse Ljótr; Dunvegan Castle; say muh-CLOWD
- MacGregor US #6,495: Son of Gregor; the clan once banned by royal decree
- MacKay US #3,624: Son of Aodh, fire; a Sutherland clan; say muh-KYE
- MacLean US #4,787: Son of Gille Eathain, servant of Saint John; Isle of Mull
- Mackintosh US #20,911: Mac an Tòisich, son of the chief; leaders of Clan Chattan
- MacNeil US #11,081: Son of Niall; chiefs of the Isle of Barra
- MacKinnon US #7,735: Son of Fionghuin, fair-born; an old clan of Skye and Mull
- MacMillan US #6,026: Son of the tonsured one, a monk's descendant
- MacLachlan US #22,987: Son of Lachlan, a name drawn from Lochlann, Norway; Loch Fyne
- MacFarlane US #6,950: Son of Parlan, a Gaelic Bartholomew; the Loch Lomond clan
- MacDougall US #7,655: Son of Dubhghall, dark stranger; Lords of Lorn
- MacAlister US #96,193: Son of Alasdair, Alexander; a Kintyre branch of Clan Donald
- MacLaren US #19,617: Son of Labhran, Lawrence; the Balquhidder clan
- MacQueen US #26,376: Mac Shuibhne, son of Suibhne, pleasant
- MacRae US #12,799: Mac Rath, son of grace; keepers of Eilean Donan Castle
- MacInnes US #27,169: Son of Aonghas, one strength
- MacArthur US #8,045: Son of Arthur; an old Argyll clan
- MacDuff US #43,428: Son of Dubh, dark; the medieval earls of Fife
- MacPherson US #6,065: Mac a' Phearsain, son of the parson; a Clan Chattan family
Highland clans without Mac
Not every clan name starts with Mac. Some are Gaelic nicknames, some name a district, and some came north with Norman settlers. Logan has both Highland and Lowland branches.
- Forbes US #1,032: From lands in Aberdeenshire; old rivals of the Gordons
- Buchanan US #511: From lands by Loch Lomond, Gaelic for the canon's seat
- Drummond US #2,042: From Drymen, from Gaelic dromainn, ridge
- Chisholm US #2,841: From lands in Roxburghshire; later chiefs in Strathglass
- Matheson US #4,770: Gaelic Mac Mhathain, son of the bear; Lochalsh clan
- Ogilvy US #98,894: From lands in Angus, Brittonic for high plain
- Cumming US #10,906: Spelling of Comyn, the Norman family Robert the Bruce fought
- Moncreiffe: Gaelic monadh craoibhe, hill of the tree; a Perthshire family
Lowland and Border family names
In the south, families took their names from lands and towns. The Border names belonged to the reivers, the raiding families of the 1500s.
- Hamilton US #122: Probably from an English place called Hambledon; later Scotland's premier dukes
- Crawford US #161: Ford of the crows, from lands in Lanarkshire
- Ramsay US #4,138: From Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, wild garlic island
- Cunningham US #229: From a district of north Ayrshire; Earls of Glencairn
- Turnbull US #4,219: Nickname for a strong man, said to have turned a bull
- Burns US #162: Dweller by a burn, a Scots stream; the national poet's surname
- Jardine US #8,387: From French jardin, garden; an Annandale family
- Moffat US #10,050: From the Dumfriesshire town, Gaelic for long plain
- Kirkpatrick US #1,375: Church of Saint Patrick, from a Dumfriesshire place
- Carruthers US #7,323: From Caer Rydderch, the fort of Rhydderch, in Dumfriesshire
- Swinton US #10,638: Swine farm, from lands in Berwickshire
- Robson US #4,396: Son of Rob, short for Robert; a reiver family of English Tynedale
- Johnston US #237: From a place in Annandale, John's settlement; a Border family
- Leslie US #1,446: From lands in Aberdeenshire; the Earls of Rothes
- Innes US #11,750: From lands in Moray, Gaelic innis, island or riverside meadow
Scottish -son surnames
Lowland Scots made surnames by adding -son to a father's name, and many Highland Mac names were later translated the same way.
- Henderson US #111: Son of Hendry, a Scots form of Henry
- Ferguson US #198: Son of Fearghas, man of vigor
- Davidson US #308: Son of David; a member clan of Clan Chattan
- Nicolson US #39,103: Son of Nicol, a form of Nicholas; the Skye family is Clan MacNeacail
- Jamieson US #4,757: Son of Jamie, the Scots pet form of James
- Dickson US #1,022: Son of a man named Richard; a Border family
- Hutchison US #1,432: Son of Hutcheon, a pet form of Hugh
- Gibson US #136: Son of Gib, a pet form of Gilbert
- Simpson US #167: Son of Sim, a pet form of Simon
- Adamson US #2,200: Son of Adam, a common medieval first name
- Williamson US #280: Son of William; common in Shetland and the Borders
- Farquharson US #14,872: Son of Fearchar, man and friend; say FAR-kur-sun
- Paterson US #5,191: Son of Patrick, from the pet form Pate
Scottish surnames from trades and the church
Occupational names in Scots and Gaelic, plus Gaelic names meaning son of the priest, the vicar or the abbot, or servant of a saint.
- MacNab US #52,802: Mac an Aba, son of the abbot
- MacTaggart US #53,424: Mac an t-Sagairt, son of the priest
- MacIntyre US #11,409: Mac an t-Saoir, son of the carpenter or craftsman
- MacVicar US #64,041: Son of the vicar
- MacLellan US #21,932: Mac Gille Fhaolain, son of the servant of Saint Fillan
- Gillies US #10,903: Gille Ìosa, servant of Jesus
- Gilmour US #11,409: Gille Moire, servant of the Virgin Mary
- Dewar US #11,048: Gaelic deòradh, pilgrim; hereditary keepers of Saint Fillan's relics
- Gow US #15,939: Gaelic gobha, smith, a vital Highland trade
- Baird US #1,034: From Gaelic bàrd, a poet or bard
- Baxter US #712: A baker; the old -ster form once meant a woman baker
- Webster US #464: A weaver, from Old English webbestre
- Lorimer US #24,705: A maker of spurs, bits and bridles
- Napier US #1,902: Keeper of the royal table linen
- Chalmers US #5,585: Scots form of chambers, for a chamberlain's officer
- Sangster US #11,823: A singer, from Scots sang, song
Norse and Norman Scottish surnames
Viking settlers left Norse names in the Isles and the far north. Norman knights arrived in the 1100s and founded some of Scotland's greatest houses.
- MacAulay US #12,888: Son of Amhlaibh, from Norse Óláfr; the Macaulays of Lewis
- MacIver US #31,833: Son of Íomhar, from Norse Ívarr
- MacAskill US #56,668: Son of Asgaill, from Norse Ásketill
- Lamont US #5,293: Old Norse lögmaðr, lawman; a Cowal clan
- Gunn US #1,524: From a Norse first name meaning battle; a Caithness clan
- Sutherland US #1,206: Southern land, as Norse settlers in Orkney saw it
- Manson US #4,921: Son of Magnus; common in Shetland and Caithness
- Swanson US #439: Son of Sveinn; a Caithness name
- Thorburn US #30,403: From the Norse first name Þórbjǫrn, Thor's bear
- Montgomery US #275: From Montgommery in Normandy; Earls of Eglinton
- Hay US #2,055: From a Norman village named for a hedge; Earls of Erroll
Scottish surnames that are not said how they look
Old spellings kept letters that speech dropped long ago. In some, the z stands for an old letter, yogh, which stood for a y or ng sound.
- Menzies US #14,472: From Mesnières in Normandy; say MING-iss
- Colquhoun US #32,616: From lands by Loch Lomond; say kuh-HOON
- Dalziel US #39,043: From a Lanarkshire place, Gaelic for white field; say dee-ELL
- Urquhart US #7,397: From lands by Loch Ness, Brittonic for by the wood; say URK-urt
- Home US #19,684: From lands in Berwickshire; say HYOOM
- Strachan US #7,718: From a place on Deeside; say STRAKH-an in Scotland, or STRAWN abroad
- Cockburn US #30,199: From a Berwickshire place; say KOH-burn
- Ruthven US #39,643: From lands in Perthshire; say RIV-en
- Marjoribanks: Said to honor Marjorie Bruce, though the dowry story is a myth; say MARCH-banks
- Wemyss US #75,813: Gaelic uamh, cave, after caves on the Fife coast; say WEEMZ
- Auchinleck: Gaelic for field of the flat stones; say AFF-leck
How to pick the right name
Decide Highland or Lowland
Mac names and Gaelic clan names suit a Highland or island character. Names ending in -son, trade names and place names like Rutherford fit the Lowlands and the Borders.
Check the clan's home ground
Clans are tied to places: MacLeod to Skye, Campbell to Argyll, MacNeil to Barra. A surname that matches the setting makes a Scottish story feel grounded.
Pick one spelling and keep it
MacDonald, McDonald and Macdonald are all real and all correct. Choose one for a character or a family tree and use it consistently.
Learn the local pronunciation
Menzies is MING-iss and Colquhoun is kuh-HOON. If a name is in the last section, say it the Scottish way, or people from Scotland will notice.
Save this list for later
Pin it to a naming board, or tap the heart next to any name to keep it in your favorites on this device.
Scottish last names: Scotland's 2025 top 20, Mac versus Mc in America, and who really belongs to a clan
By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names
Smith was Scotland's most common surname in 2025, with 1,827 entries in the birth, marriage and death registers, ahead of Brown and Wilson, which have held the top three places every year on record (National Records of Scotland). Thomson rose to fourth.
In the US the same names look different: Mc spellings far outnumber Mac, and the English Thompson outnumbers the Scottish Thomson. The kit above gives the Gaelic form of a clan surname and its woman's form, and the tags show each name's rank in the 2020 US Census.
Scotland's most common surnames, 2025
| Rank | Surname | Entries, 2025 | US rank, 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith | 1,827 | #1 |
| 2 | Brown | 1,248 | #4 |
| 3 | Wilson | 1,205 | #14 |
| 4 | Thomson | 1,033 | #1,427 |
| 5 | Campbell | 1,027 | #48 |
| 6 | Stewart | 991 | #61 |
| 7 | Robertson | 958 | #185 |
| 8 | Anderson | 942 | #15 |
| 9 | Taylor | 751 | #17 |
| 10 | Murray | 736 | #139 |
Sources: National Records of Scotland, published May 26, 2026, counting each child's surname at birth, both spouses at marriage and the deceased at death; US Census Bureau.
Mac or Mc?
| Mc spelling | People in the US | Mac spelling | People in the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald | 172,700 | MacDonald | 45,126 |
| McKenzie | 58,046 | MacKenzie | 13,446 |
| McIntosh | 40,973 | Mackintosh | 1,279 |
| McLeod | 30,359 | MacLeod | 7,819 |
| McGregor | 15,078 | MacGregor | 5,024 |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 surnames. Scotland's registers also count McDonald and MacDonald as different surnames, while Macdonald and MacDonald count as one (NRS).
Clans, septs and women's Gaelic surnames
- A clan is wider than its surname. The Court of the Lord Lyon counts as clan members those bearing the clan surname or that of one of its septs, and all who profess allegiance to the chief; the chief's crest inside a strap and buckle is the sign of a clansman (Lord Lyon).
- Nic for women. A woman's Gaelic surname uses Nic, short for nighean mhic, and softens the next letter, so MacDhòmhnaill becomes NicDhòmhnaill (Wikipedia).
- The banned name. In April 1603 James VI abolished the name MacGregor on pain of death; the ban was repealed in 1661, reimposed in 1693 and finally lifted in the late 18th century (Wikipedia).
Sources
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common Scottish last name?
Smith is the most common surname in Scotland, with 1,827 entries in the 2025 birth, marriage and death registers, followed by Brown and Wilson, according to National Records of Scotland. Those three have held the top spots in every year on record.
What is the difference between a clan name and a surname?
A clan is a kin group led by a chief, and its name is usually the chief's surname. Tenants and followers often took the clan name too, so sharing it does not always mean descent from the chief.
What does Mac mean in Scottish names?
Mac is Gaelic for son, so MacDonald means son of Domhnall and MacGregor means son of Gregor. Mc is a shortened spelling of Mac, not a sign of Irish rather than Scottish roots.
Are Highland and Lowland surnames different?
Yes. Highland surnames are mostly Gaelic Mac names and clan names, while Lowland surnames are usually Scots or English, taken from places, trades or a father's name with -son.
How do you pronounce Menzies?
Menzies is said MING-iss. The z stands for an old letter called yogh, which could mark an ng sound, as in Menzies, or a y sound, which is why Dalziel is said dee-ELL.
Do you need the surname to belong to a Scottish clan?
No. The Court of the Lord Lyon counts as clan members people with the clan surname or the surname of one of its septs, and all who profess allegiance to the chief. Sharing a surname also does not prove descent from the chief.
What is a woman's Gaelic surname?
Mac becomes Nic, short for nighean mhic, daughter of the son of, and the next letter is usually softened: MacDhòmhnaill becomes NicDhòmhnaill and MacLeòid NicLeòid. The kit on this page shows both forms.
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