Scottish Last Names

Innis is the name of an island (and Gaelic word for island) which became a Scottish surname and clan name before being used as a first. It hasn't been heard much in the U.S., but could attract more attention with the growing popularity of Latin s-ending boys' names such as Atticus.

Allen is the spelling of this name -- other common spellings are Alan and Allan -- most associated with the surname; it might also be the most appropriate if you're trying to steer clear of Al as a nickname, as this can easily offer you Len or Lenny as options.

Donald has been used for centuries in Scotland, where the Macdonald clan is one of the most ancient and where there have been six early Scottish kings by that name. Donald was a Top 20 name throughout most of the early twentieth century. But first there was the quacking Donald Duck, introduced in 1934, to affect its image, and then there was The Donald Trump, leaving it drained of much baby appeal. Trump's surprising run to the presidency didn't save Donald's decline on the baby name charts; it fell 47 spots between 2015 and 2016, from 441 to 488, and is now a less popular name than it's been since records have been kept.

Davis is a fresh way to say David. Some sources define it as "son of David," but we see it as a surname spin on the original. While David is an everyman name, Davis has some creative edge -- and still gets you to the classic guy nickname Dave.

Crosby is an attractively laid-back Irish surname with retro musical associations to Bing and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and with a jaunty air. Crosby Braverman was the name of a character on the TV show Parenthood, played by Dax Shepard.

This geographic Scottish surname is more often spelled Brody in the US. Both forms have seen decreasing popularity, which may be linked to its association with club-hopping Hills star Brody Jenner.

Glenn appealed to a lot of post-World War II parents for its cool, leafy image, also calling up the Big Band sounds of Glenn Miller and the calm, composed image of actor Glenn Ford, whose name at birth was the Welsh Gwyllyn. It could possible be in line for a comeback in the more nature-evoking spelling of Glen, as used by Glen Campbell, or possibly even the Welsh Glyn.

Camerson was once a rising star for boys only, but Cameron Diaz almost single-handedly transported it into the unisex camp, though there are still ten times as many boy babies named Cameron as girls.

The seventh most common surname in Scotland, once associated only with soup, is now being considered as a last-name-first choice, accessible but unusual.

Anderson shot up quite a bit on the popular names list in the 2000's, no doubt in large part due to the prominence of white-haired cable newsman Anderson Cooper. Perhaps surprisingly though, Anderson was even higher on the list in 1880. Actress Edie Falco named her son Anderson in 2005. Though there haven't been many first-named Anderson namesakes, there have been countless notables bearing the surname, including Hans Christian, Marian, Maxwell, Sherwood, Gillian, Laurie, and Pamela.

Could be a novel way for a boy's name to honor an ancestral Claire.

A Scottish place and surname that was once adrogynous but now leans about 20 to 1 toward the girls' side, Leslie has a pleasant, heathery feel that kept it in or near the Top 100 for several decades; the Lesly and Lesley spellings are also frequently used, especially in Britain. While Leslie may not be the freshest name in the bunch, it's become a modern classic and is one of the surprising names always to have ranked among the US Top 1000 for girls.

This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley widely used as the feminine variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes.

Greer is typically used as a girl name in the US, particularly in this form. The spelling Grier is gender-neutral, given to boys about 43 percent of the time.

Errol was a swashbuckling name in the Errol Flynn era, which still has a trace of jazz cool.m thanks to jazz pianist Erroll Garner.

Monroe is a presidential surname which feels fresher than Jackson, Lincoln and Taylor. Marilyn Monroe is a famous female namesake, but her smart Scottish surname feels equally usable for either sex. Plus, we think old man nickname Moe would sound both cool and adorable on a baby boy today!

Former cool-boy name now in middle-aged limbo, but with a nice naturey meaning to endear it to modern parents.

This unisex name, the seventh most popular surname in Scotland, can make a more unusual Cameron alternative. It is represented on the girls' side by TV news correspondent Campbell Brown, for whom it was a family name, Brown was born Alma Dale Campbell, Alma Dale being her grandmother's name,and Campbell her mother's maiden name.

This once perfectly respectable surname has suffered decades of abuse, not least by Jerry Lewis's character in the fifties. NFL running back Melvin Gordon stars for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Music legend David Bowie lends his adopted surname considerable charisma to this stylish Scottish name for girls and boys. Born David Robert Jones, he changed his name to avoid confusion with The Monkees' Davy Jones.