Patronymics Many Scottish surnames originate from names that were originally
patronyms. Patronyms are derived from the
forename of the bearer's father (for example, the full name of a man named
John Donaldson indicates that the father's name was
Donald). Patronyms change with every successive generation (for example, the patronyms of a grandson, father, and grandfather may be
John Donaldson, son of
Donald Robertson, son of
Robert Williamson). The earliest patronyms recorded in Scotland are written in several different languages. In early
Latin documents, such names were formed by the
genitive case of the father's name preceded by forms of
filius, meaning "son" (for example
Dugaldus filius Nigelli); later the
filius was only implied (for example
Dugaldus Nigelli). There are several
prefixes and
suffixes that may indicate whether a modern surname originated from a patronym: the English suffixes
-son, and
-s; and the Gaelic prefix
Mac-. In some cases, the
-son was dropped from such surnames, and just the forename of an ancestor was used (for example
Martin). In some cases, the suffix
-s was used, and according to Black, such names appear to have originated in England (for example
Adams). It was not until the 18th century that they were given up in the Gaelic-speaking Highlands. As late as the first part of the 18th century, some men were distinguished not only by their father's name, but their grandfather's and great-grandfather's (for example, ''John Roy M'Ean Vc Ewin Vc Dougall Vc Ean
, a man from Lismore recorded in 1585). Crawford is derived from Crawford, South Lanarkshire, in the south of Scotland, Barton is derived from Dumbarton, or the several villages and towns in England, and Graham'' is derived from
Grantham, in
Lincolnshire, England). Not all territorial surnames are derived from lands owned by their bearers. Some Scottish surnames are derived from vague geographical locations rather than specific places. Sometimes names derived from proper names of geographical features can be classified as topographic names rather than habitational names. This is because these names refer to a location rather than a specific settlement.
Occupational names Many surnames are derived from the occupations, or
trades, of their original bearers (for example,
Stewart,
Shepherd,
Mason,
Kemp,
Webb, and
Fletcher). In time, true occupational surnames became hereditary and were passed down through families (for example, in 1525 there is a record of a woman named
Agnes Beltmakar, who is described as a
kaikbakstar). Examples of such surnames derived from Gaelic occupational name is
Gow, from the Scottish Gaelic
Gobha (smith), and
MacIntyre from
Mac an t-Saoir ( "son of the carpenter." from the Gaelic surname ''Mac a' Phearsain''. but were also used in the Borders and the West Highlands. In some cases within fishing communities, the names of fishing boats were tacked onto the names of people in order to differentiate them from others. Examples of Scottish surnames derived from nicknames are:
Little;
White; and
Meikle (which means "much" or "great"). One of the most common Scottish surnames is
Campbell, which is derived from the Gaelic
Caimbeul, meaning "crooked-mouth". Similarly,
Cameron is derived from the Gaelic
Camshron, meaning "crooked-nose". Another common Scottish surname is
Armstrong, which means the son of a strong man.
Regional names, or ethnic names Some Scottish surnames can be classified as either "regional names" or "ethnic names". These names originally referred to the origin of the bearer and tended to have been acquired by people who migrated a considerable distance for their original homes. In other cases, such names were sometimes borne by people who were connected with a foreign place (such as a trader). Examples of ethnic surnames are
Fleming,
Galbraith,
Scott, and
Wallace. ==Scottish clans==