Scottish Last Names

A new crop of gender-neutral English place names have suddenly become trendy — those ending in -ton. Multi-syllabic but not dramatic, these names are rising quickly for girls and boys. Think Charleston, Lexington, and Kensington. Livingston isn't as hot as some of the others, but its time will soon come. For a girl, Livingston boasts the nickname Liv.

McKay is the Anglicized form of Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh" in Gaelic. Aodh is the origin of names such as Aidan and Hugh, making McKay a subtle way to honor people with those names.

Alternatively, the name might be a variation of Mckayla, Michaela, and similar, making it a form of Michael, or, it could be translated as "song of Kay".

Alternative spelling of the Welsh name Lowri, a form of Laura.

Shaw is a streamlined and more modern-sounding Shawn, with many notable surname namesakes.

This word name is an archaic form of "morning", as in the phrase "on the morrow". It's been very occasionally used for boys, probably from the surname. With a good temporal meaning and with word names like Meadow on the rise, it could have potential.

Kerr, a simple, unusual unisex middle-name choice, can be pronounced either car or kehr.

Although highly associated with the internet security company, McAfee joined the reams of possible baby names when it was used for the female character McAfee Westbrook in the Netflix series The Politician.

If used at all these days, it would be to honor artist Jackson, whose first name would be far preferable.

This Macallister variation is strongly associted with Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Unless it's your alma mater, it might be wise to stick with the original.