Scottish Names for Boys

An old-school great-grandpa name, like Irving and Ernest, that may just be ready for revival. It's also a well-known name in Hungary and elsewhere in central and eastern Europe. As a surname, it's associated with jazz sax player Booker Ervin.

Forbes is a business magazine in the U.S., long led by Malcolm Forbes, with a buttoned-down Brooks Brothers image. If you name your son Forbes, you're definitely implying a connection to the prominent and wealthy family -- which may be exactly what you're intending. But if you have a more down-to-earth image in mind, try Field.

Though Collins makes the Top 1000 for girls, it sounds strong and handsome for boys too, kind of like the newly-stylish Brooks. The final s updates it from the 80s-ish Colin or the Twilightish Cullen. Might make an innovative honorific for a grandpa Nick.

In Scotland, a cairn is a heap of stones placed as a memorial or to support a beacon. This gives the name a rugged, timeless quality that is very appealing at present.

Scottish nature name that could prove a tongue- twister for the younger set.

Kenny might be all South Park to some, but it has been in steady use in the US since the 1930s.

Overwhelmingly feminine in the US, where parent name Mackenzie is wildly popular, but masculine in the UK, where Kenzie ranks among the Top 1000 names for baby boys.

William was such a popular name, thanks to the Conquerer, in early England that it gave rise to a range of nicknames, including the distinctly Scottish Wilkie. Heard mostly as a surname these days, it's the middle name of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's son James and the first name of writer Collins. While Wilkie could make an adorable short form for a little boy, we'd recommend a more substantial full name such as, well, William.

Cameron is still more popular as a boy's name than a girls and this simple, snappy short form works well for either sex.

New Presidential name, if you're ready to move beyond Lincoln and Jefferson. At the turn of the last century, during the original McKinley's heyday, as a first name it almost reached the Top 100.

Simplicity and pleasant associations give the word Bell real possibility as a first name -- but somehow it seems better for a girl, a la Belle.

A relatively common surname, Dixon would be an inventive way to honor an ancestral Richard or Dick, the X form a lot livelier than the Dickson spelling, just as Dix is a more modern short form than Dick; it would be right at home alongside Dax and Jax.

Macallister as a first name is attracting new attention as the name chosen by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and venture capitalist Zack Bogue for their young son. Macallister is usually heard as a patronymic surname, meaning son of Alasdair or Alistair or any one of the spellings of the Scottish form of Alexander. Like all other names of this type, Macallister leads to the cute short form Mac.

When actress Deborah Kerr entered the scene, there was a great debate over her name's pronunciation. Car or Ker. Your choice.

This musical choice fits right in with all the new hard-working Millers and Gardeners. It's also a Scottish demonym, referring to an inhabitant of the historic Scottish county of Fife.

King Joffrey Baratheon, the petulant biological son of siblings Cersei and Jaime Lannisters, is perhaps the most notorious villain in the entire Game of Thrones canon. His name is practically a byword for sadism among fans of the show and George R.R. Martin's books. As such, we think it's probably a name best avoided IRL.

Ancient Irish saint's name that's unlikely, because of its similarity to "ninny," to join cousin Finian in popularity.

Most parents would prefer to leave the car part parked in the garage.

This is a Scottish pet form of John, the equivalent of Jack in England. Has long been used as a generic name for a Scotsman, here it's a generic name for a--well--jock.

Authentic Gaelic name with pronunciation problems in the US. In Scotland Eachann has been anglicized as Hector, not because of its sound, but because the Trojan hero Hector had the reputation as a mighty horseman.