George McKay (5)

Scottish Names is a collation of various personal names used in Scotland. It includes many given names as well as quite a few surnames. The book runs to 188 pages but paper is not the format for a list like this. It is regrettably obsolete. It was probably obsolete on publication in 2009. The reason for obsolescence is that this kind of list is much more effectively stored in a database and distributed on the internet. There are so many web sites with lists of names available these days that show more there is no point in having a book on the subject if that book only generates a list. Scottish Names is nothing more than an abbreviated list, it adds no additional value.

The only interesting part of Scottish Names is the slightly more than four page introduction. The introduction includes analysis of trends in name concepts and a bit of historical context around surnames. It is only four pages and is in quite large print so this is inevitably on the briefest of glimpses into the heritage that the names of Scotland offer.

The remainder of the book is an alphabetical romp through some names in Scotland. Several of these names do not bear the phrase Scottish Names as they are simply names that are used in Scotland - certainly not the same thing. An easy example would be Jason. Quite a famous name and not at all from Scotland. It is only listed because at the time it was in the top 100 boys names.

Confusingly the given names and surnames are all intermingled. This of course means M is by far the longest of the alphabetical entries. Including surnames was a major mistake because there is nowhere near enough space to do them justice. The author's own surname is of course listed and has marginally more of an entry than many around it but is still just five short lines. The lack of space means there is very little worthwhile included in any of the entries. One of the longest surname entries is for MacDonald, running at eight lines. Those eight lines still manage to forget the arguably highest profile and most numerous of the MacDonald branches, Clanranald.

The entries for given names are briefer than a typical internet site. An example would be Ciara which receives a couple of words on its relation to Ciaran, has a few more on its basic Gaelic etymology, and then the phrase "a name which has become more popular in Scotland in recent years". An internet site would quantify that popularity while anything that purports to comment on names would suggest the surge in interest in the name and its various mis-spellings.

There are quite a few lesser known names scattered through the book which could be interesting to read about. These are generally surnames though and frankly there are hundreds if not more surnames that each have a complex etymology and history to share. The inclusion of obscure surnames with place name reference would be fine but for anyone with a connection to a name such as say Rettie the inclusion of half a dozen words in this book would add absolutely no value at all. A surname like Ingsetter is obscure and unusual yet surely given its location and construction is Norse - no mention of origin at all.

Scottish Names is a nice try. An idea to bring together Scottish names in a dictionary style form. There just is not really any point to doing so. A book cannot keep pace with annual changes in name popularity. It cannot store enough data to give any comprehensive catalogue. A book could possibly provide analysis and insight but that is not available here. The inclusion of surnames means there is no space for anything interesting. A bit of a waste of time really. show less