Scottish Last Names

For towheads with ties to Scotland -- in theory, anyway.

Patterson is an upscale name worth considering if you're looking to continue a line of Peters, but soundalike Paterson is a downscale city in New Jersey.

Guthrie, folk singer Woody's last name, makes a perfectly fine first choice for a girl. Names such as Guthrie that have no gendered history can make true nonbinary names.

Despite its appearance, McGill is not related to any of the Gil- names, including Gilbert, Gilford, and Gilson. The "gill" piece is derived from the Gaelic word gall, meaning "foreigner." Yet, it could still be used to honor a Gil in your life.

Shows some promise via its connection to the growing interest in Ewan.

Though this spelling is not seen too often in the US, it is a common surname spelling in the land of kilts.

A unique alternative to the West- names that are suddenly everywhere — like Weston, Westley, and West itself. Westwood lends itself to two stylish nicknames, West and Woods.

Romy lovers, here's a new one for you! Romary is a surname with French and Scottish roots and has historically been a masculine given name in France. It would be a great choice on either sex, but feels slightly more feminine with the -mary ending and Romy nickname.

The geographical spelling of the Scottish surname Sterling, now starting to be heard for girls, too.

Woodford is a vintage surname name that rejoined the charts in 2022 thanks to the recent trend of woodsy names for boys. You can take your pick of two stylish nicknames: Ford or Woods.