Suggested Research Materials

What’s your name? What was your mother called? What was your father’s mother’s name? Most of us know at least a few of the surnames that make up the heritage of our own families. But what do these names mean and where did they come from?

To help you provide more detailed information to these questions then incorporate in your research materials at least these recommended titles. Each includes entries of the most common family names, with references to thousands more. Some provide a limited history of surnames, in many cases their original form, where they originated from and why it changed to what it is today. 

1. Scottish Clans and Their Associated Families by Robert J. Heston. A straightforward list of family names accepted by the individual Scottish Clans, Societies and Associations.

2. The Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin, Meaning and History by George F. Black and Mary Elder Black. The core of this work is a listing of surnames, each with a concise history and cross-references. It is highly recommended that one use The Surnames of Scotland for cross referencing and researching names not found here.

3. The Dictionary of English Surnames by P.H. Reaney and R.M. Wilson. As many names found in Scotland today do have their origins navigating there through England via the borders, this classic dictionary explains the origins of over 16,000 surnames. 

4. The Book of Ulster Surnames by Robert Bell. This book includes entries for over 500 of the most common family names found in Ulster.

5. The Surnames of Ireland by Edward MacLysaght. Ireland was one of the earliest countries to evolve a system of hereditary surnames. More than 4,000 Gaelic Norman and Anglo-Irish surnames are listed in this book. Because of years of emigration, many Irish names are found in Scotland. This book, which was first published in 1957 and now is in its sixth edition, is being reprinted for the fourth time and remains the definitive record of Irish surnames, their genealogy, and their origins.

6. The Surnames of Wales by John and Sheila Rowlands.  According to the authors, there are many myths and misconceptions about surnames in Wales. How could there not be, when the ten most common nineteenth century surnames in Wales comprised nearly 56% of the population? Compare that to the ten most popular surnames in nineteenth century England accounted for less than 6% of that population. How does one identify their ancestors from all the others sharing the same name? This book attempts to rectify any misunderstanding about Welsh surnames.

7. Tartans, a three-volume set by William H. Johnston and Philip D. Smith, Jr. PhD. A useful set of books, with over 1200 samples, to use when someone has a question about what their tartan looks like. 

8. District Tartans, by Gordon Teall of Teallach and Philip D. Smith, Jr. District tartans, the authors argue, have at least as long a pedigree as clan tartans, but little attention has been paid to them over the last two centuries while interest has focused on clan tartans. In this book there are over fifty district tartans from Scotland and a similar number from abroad. The book also includes 21 state tartans from the USA.

KEY DEFINITIONS AND TERM OF USAGE

THE USE OF THE PREFIX MAC, MC, MA’, MACK and O’:  While many family names have prefixes such as M’, Ma, Mc, Mac, Mack, and O’, each of these prefixes all mean “son of.” For the purposes of expediting research and reducing the number of names, all prefixes, except O’ and Mack have been converted to Mac. 

SURNAMES:

Surnames were found in records from more than one region of Scotland.  In these cases the administrative region where the name was recorded is display with a corresponding, where one exists, tartan is also listed.

SURNAMES FOUND IN TRANSPORTATION RECORDS:

Prior to 1770, documentation was haphazard giving the appearance that there was a lack of interest in providing detailed information about the prisoners being deported.  This resulted in a few instances where the only information available is the crime committed, if a battle took place the name of the battle and/or the place of capture, the year of transportation, and a two-letter designation indicating where the prisoner was transported to.  

In rare cases the prisoner was identified as Scottish, the year transported, and the location they were transported to.  Entries such as these are depicted with (NFI), meaning no further information, preceding all other information.   

The two-letter identification in the “District” field indicates where a prisoner was deported to with AM = (Americas) and AU = (Australia).  For those prisoners sent to the Americas, this could have been anywhere within the thirteen colonies or to one of the plantations in the Caribbean.

This example is an excerpt depicting how the transportation information may appear during your research.