Scottish Naming Customs

"The general custom, to which there were some variations, was to name children as follows:-

The eldest son after the paternal grandfather
The second son after the maternal grandfather
The third son after the father
The eldest daughter after the maternal grandmother
The second daughter after the paternal grandmother
The third daughter after the mother

Younger children would be named after earlier forebears, but the pattern in their case was less settled."

("In search of Scottish Ancestry" by Gerald Hamilton-Edwards, Phillimore, 1983 Edition).

Scottish surnames occurring most often on the birth, death, and marriage registers in Scotland in 1995.

Rank Name Occurrence

1 Smith 2273

2 Brown 1659

3 Wilson 1539

4 Thomson 1373

5 Robertson 1370

6 Campbell 1361

7 Stewart 1278

8 Anderson 1187

9 MacDonald 980