List of Scottish place names in other countries

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This page is a list of place names in Scotland which have subsequently been applied to other parts of the world by Scottish emigrants or explorers, or contain distinctive Scottish surnames as an element.

Antarctica[edit]

Huron Glacier and McFarlane Strait on Livingston Island, South Shetlands
Scotia Sea

Argentina[edit]

Munro, Argentina

Australia[edit]

The Perth skyline viewed from Elizabeth Quay
The Balconies (formerly known as the 'Jaws of Death') - Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia

Barbados[edit]

Bermuda[edit]

The coast of Callan Glen, Hamilton Parish, Bermuda.

Bulgaria[edit]

Canada[edit]

Also note that, unless otherwise stated, province names are not Scottish.
Banff, Alberta
A satellite photo of Nova Scotia.

Caledonia Mountain

Scotland

For Nova Scotian names in Scottish Gaelic (not necessarily the same as the English versions) see:

Canadian communities with Scottish Gaelic speakers
Scottish Gaelic placenames in Canada.

A notable example of this phenomenon is Beinn Bhreagh, former home of Alexander Graham Bell.

Chile[edit]

Dominica[edit]

Scott's Head, Dominica

England[edit]

New Scotland Yard, London

Falkland Islands[edit]

Map of the Falkland Islands

Note: The Falkland Islands derive their English language name from Falkland Sound. This was named for Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, who in turn took his title from Falkland Palace. See also West Falkland and East Falkland, the two main islands. Stanley is a location in Scotland, but the Falkland town is named after Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.

Brenton Loch (inlet) and Loch Head Pond are also rare examples of the Scottish word "loch" being applied to bodies of water outside Europe.

Hong Kong[edit]

Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong

India[edit]

Italy[edit]

Indonesia[edit]

  • Jawa Timur (East Java)
    • Glenmore (fr:Glenmore (Indonésie), id:Glenmore, Banyuwangi) - From a Gaelic placename both in Mull and Lismore, it was named by Scottish Highland soldiers serving in the Dutch East India Company of the 18th Century who were garrisoned in the area near Mount Raung and who eventually married locally and settled down.

Ireland[edit]

Because Scotland and Ireland have their own Gaelic languages, many of the same placename elements can be found in both countries. However, during the Ulster Plantations, Scottish settlers from the Lowlands who were mostly of Anglo-Saxon stock have left their mark with some place names in Ulster which are distinct to Ireland's predominantly Celtic placenames.

Jamaica[edit]

  • Aberdeen
  • Alva
  • Berwick Castle
  • Clydesdale
  • Culloden (two places)
  • Dundee
  • Elderslie
  • Elgin Town (two places)
  • Farquhar's Beach
  • Glasgow
  • Inverness
  • Kilmarnoch (sic - from Kilmarnock)
  • Suburbs of Kingston (possibly not itself a Scottish name) [4]
  • Knapdale
  • Montego Bay suburbs include Dunbar Pen and Glendevon.
  • Perth Town
  • Roxborough
  • Stewart Town
  • Tweedside

Kerguelen Islands[edit]

  • McMurdo Island/Ile McMurdo
  • Ile Murray

Malawi[edit]

Malaysia[edit]

Satellite image of Darvel Bay, 27 July 1980

Isle of Man[edit]

The Isle of Man like Ireland also has its own Gaelic language meaning that Scottish placename elements such as "glen" (Manx: "glione") frequently turn up there, e.g. Sulby Glen, but these are indigenous.

New Caledonia[edit]

"Baie des Tortues" (Turtle Bay) near "La roche percée" (Pierced Rock) at Bourail in New Caledonia

New Zealand[edit]

Cnr of Esk and Dee Streets, looking up Esk st, one of the main shopping streets of Invercargill.
Looking at Lake Wakatipu from Glenorchy
View of the Clutha River towards Roxburgh Bridge.

The South Island also contains the Strath-Taieri and the Ben Ohau Range of mountains, both combining Scots Gaelic and Māori origins. Invercargill has the appearance of a Scottish name, since it combines the Scottish prefix "Inver" (Inbhir), meaning a river's mouth, with "Cargill", the name of a leading early settler, who was born in Scotland. Invercargill's main streets are named after Scottish rivers (Dee, Tay, Spey, Esk, Don, Doon, Clyde, etc.), and many places in Dunedin have names mirroring those in Edinburgh. Inchbonnie is a hybrid of Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic

Norway[edit]

Panama[edit]

The Scottish Colony in Panama

Due to the Darién scheme, the Caribbean coast of Panama has various names which refer to the Scottish presence. The colony was called "New Caledonia", the settlement "New Edinburgh", the fort "Fort St Andrew" and the bay near it "Caledonia Bay". These names are defunct, although references to the Scottish settlers remain in some of the Spanish language names of the region.

Pitcairn Islands[edit]

Seychelles[edit]

South Africa[edit]

Arniston, South Africa's typical fisherman houses
Boers watch the fighting at Dundee in 1899
Pringle Bay

South Georgia[edit]

Stromness Bay, South Georgia

Sri Lanka[edit]

Elgin Falls, Sri Lanka

Sweden[edit]

Tristan da Cunha[edit]

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas

Trinidad and Tobago[edit]

Turks and Caicos Islands[edit]

United States[edit]

Tribute to Kurt Cobain in Aberdeen, Washington State.
Dunedin's Scottish-American Society maintains Dunedin's Scottish heritage.

Vanuatu[edit]

Wales[edit]

Zambia[edit]

Livingstone, Zambia
Mzingwane River at West Nicholson, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe[edit]

  • Bannockburn
  • Craigmore, Zimbabwe
  • Glendale, Zimbabwe
  • West Nicholson
  • Bulawayo is a native name, but 38 of the 156 suburbs have names of some kind of Scottish origin.[8]
    • Barbourfields
    • Burnside
    • Douglasdale
    • Glencoe
    • Glengarry
    • Kelvin, Kelvin East, Kelvin North and Kelvin West (River Kelvin)
    • Lochview - in reference to Lakeside Dam.
    • Montrose Old Church
    • Morningside
    • Paddonhurst
    • Southdale (Shetland Islands).
  • Harare also a native name - suburbs include [9]
    • Ardbennie
    • Braeside
    • Glen Lorne
    • Lochinvar
    • Strathaven

Some post-colonial renaming has taken place, e.g. Lake Chivero was formerly known as Lake McIlwaine. It is uncertain whether the "Glen" of Glen Norah is Scottish inspired.

Outer space[edit]

Asteroid 243 Ida which includes a feature named after Fingal's Cave

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nasa Atlas Archived 2007-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 July 2007.

External links[edit]