Scotland is viewed as a very beautiful and picturesque country the world over. In 2023, a record-breaking four million international tourists visited Scotland, along with 12.4million domestic visitors, according to Visit Scotland.

Tourists might stick to the big cities or decide to go off the beaten track and visit some of the country’s smaller towns and villages. And it seems like for some, the place names have really stuck out to them – so much so that they have gone home and are now considering naming their new-born babies after the spots they visited.

Taking to Reddit, a US tourist who visited Scotland wanted to help a poster who was seeking help choosing a girl’s name from Scottish place names. Her advice was sincere, but may be questionable to us Scots who live here.

“I’ve put a fair amount of thought into this,” the user said. “I visited Scotland and fell in love with it. The name I sort of liked the best for Scotland inspired was Scotlyn. The others were… Alexandria and Lenzie.

“I do not know how this is pronounced so there is a possibility it isn’t usable but said like len-zee it is cute. Another one is Airdrie – again, no clue how this is actually pronounced but if it is like air-dree that is cute.

“Ire-dree is cute too… not a fan of air-dry pronunciation, though. I also really like Paisley and Dailley.”

Scots might not be able to get on board with the suggestions
Scots might not be able to get on board with the suggestions (Image: Getty Images)

Another user who lives in the US agreed that they had “the best time looking around a map of Scotland for names” but she warned: “Take my suggestions with a grain of salt. These may be ridiculous to use if you’re actually Scottish.”

The names were Crovie, Eday, Golspie, Gretna, Iona, Kailzie, Lismore, Malby, Rosslyn, and Sanday.

The woman added: “I know these aren’t all names, but I think they could all work for sure. Also, I fought to name our son Stirling, but I just couldn’t get my husband on board.”

It comes after the five common baby names that are most likely to earn big money later in life were revealed. From CEOs to financial directors, these titles are perfect for parents looking for names that scream success.

Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our newsletterhere.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts


This will close in 0 seconds