Scottish Last Names

  1. Blaine
    • Origin:

      Irish and Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "yellow"
    • Description:

      Attractive Scottish and Irish surname name of a seventh-century saint, associated with the illusionist and escape artist David Blaine.
  2. Blair
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "dweller on the plain"
    • Description:

      One of the first generation of cool surname names, now largely used for girls in the US, but still popular for boys in its native Scotland. A prominent association for Brits is former prime minister Tony Blair, who was leader at the time of the Iraq War.
  3. Irving
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "green river, sea friend"
    • Description:

      It might be surprising to know that this name originated as a Scottish place and surname name, as in Washington Irving. It became a popular choice for first-generation Jewish-American boys, such as best-selling authors Irving Stone and Irving Wallace, whose parents looked to surnames from the British Isles to confer a measure of assimilation and class. Irving Berlin changed his name from Israel; actor Ving Rhames streamlined and coolized it. Irving was a Top 100 name during World War I, and though we don't envision it reaching those heights again, we can see some hipster parents having their own little Ving.
  4. Dallas
    • Origin:

      Place name, surname and Irish
    • Meaning:

      "meadow dwelling, valley house, skilled"
    • Description:

      A laid-back cowboy name which feels both cool and gentle, Dallas has ranked in the US Top 500 since records began in 1880. Never super popular but surprisingly never out of style, Dallas is given to nearly 1400 boys in the US every year.
  5. Calder
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "rocky water"
    • Description:

      Artistic associations with the sculptor who invented the mobile make this one of the more creative surname choices.
  6. Montgomery
    • Origin:

      Norman
    • Meaning:

      "man power"
    • Description:

      This image of this distinguished Anglo-Scottish surname, drawn from the French place name of the ancient castle of Saint Foi de Montgomery, is rapidly shifting from fusty and formal to cool. And dashing short form Monty (or Monte) nudges it to cute.
  7. Fraser
    • Origin:

      Scottish from French
    • Meaning:

      "strawberry"
    • Description:

      Though TV's "Frasier" made the name famous, and Frazier is a well-used variation, Fraser is the original, used mostly in Scotland.
  8. Kelly
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "war"
    • Description:

      Once the quintessential bouncy teenager name, Kelly helped launch the trend of unisex Irish names . But it now takes a backseat to more substantial surname names like Kennedy.
  9. Kelly
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "war"
    • Description:

      A predominantly male name in the US until the late 1950s, the name continued to rise for both sexes for both sexes for a further decade, before starting to decline for boys. Despite dropping out of the boys' Top 1000 in 2002, Kelly retains a rugged Irish charm.
  10. Crosby
    • Origin:

      Irish
    • Meaning:

      "village with crosses"
    • Description:

      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.
  11. Glenn
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "valley"
    • Description:

      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.
  12. Ainsley
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "one's own meadow"
    • Description:

      While theoretically unisex, this surname name has been edging up the girls’ names list, perhaps originally as an Ashley substitute. One quality in Ainsley's favor: It's remained steadily popular -- but not TOO popular -- for more than 20 years now, ranking consistently around Number 400. That makes it stylish and familiar without showing up everywhere.
  13. Love
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Meaning:

      "love"
    • Description:

      Love makes an endearing middle name, as in Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, more parents are considering Love as a first name — enough for it to enter the charts for the first time in 2022 as one of the fastest-rising names of the year. Other love-related alternatives include Juliet, Valentina, and Amor.
  14. Ross
    • Origin:

      English and Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "upland, peninsula"
    • Description:

      Like Friends, Ross is off the air and into syndication as a baby name, having plummeted from its zenith in the late 80s to fall off the US Top 1000 in 2013. Today, Ross is more likely to be a dad name than a newborn name.
  15. Grier
    • Origin:

      Scottish, spelling variation of Greer
    • Meaning:

      "alert, watchful"
    • Description:

      The more popular Greer spelling might lean feminine, however, Grier sees more even distribution between the sexes. It is given to a small handful of babies each year, but for every one Grier, there are three Greers.
  16. Leslie
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "garden of holly"
    • Description:

      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.
  17. Morris
    • Origin:

      English variation of Maurice
    • Meaning:

      "dark-skinned"
    • Description:

      Morris is as quiet and comfortable as a Morris chair, and has the same vintage feel. Once a Top 100 name in the early 1900s, Morris fell completely off the roster in 1995, probably due to lingering fallout from his identification with Morris the cat's ("the world's most finicky cat") 9 Lives cat food commercials.
  18. Paisley
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "church, cemetery"
    • Description:

      For a name related to a Scottish town, a patterned Indian fabric, and a country singer named Brad, Paisley has seen remarkable success. After appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, it is now an American favorite.
  19. Mitchell
    • Origin:

      English variation of Michael
    • Meaning:

      "who is like God"
    • Description:

      Mitchell has had something of a roller coaster ride, showing some panache in the forties and fifties, when it was seen as a sharper alternative to Michael with its cool Mitch nickname, slipping a bit, then resurfacing in the 90s when it reached as high as Number 71. Mitchell Pritchett is one of the leading characters on the TV sitcom Modern Family.
  20. Murray
    • Origin:

      Scottish
    • Meaning:

      "settlement by the sea"
    • Description:

      Murray, you may be surprised to discover, is a Scottish surname name --that of an ancient noble clan--with a sea-swept meaning, and just could be in the next wave of reevaluated grandpa names. Currently Number 60 for baby boys born in its native Scotland; it was at its highest in the US in 1922, when it reached Number 208, but has been off the list since 1975. Could it be time for a comeback?