List of Scottish place names in other countries


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

Argentina

Australia

Barbados

Bermuda

Bulgaria

Canada

Caledonia Mountain
Scotland
For Nova Scotian names in Scottish Gaelic see:
A notable example of this phenomenon is Beinn Bhreagh, former home of Alexander Graham Bell.

Chile

[Dominica]

England

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

Hong Kong

India

Italy

Indonesia

  • Jawa Timur
  • *Glenmore - 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

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

Kerguelen Islands

  • McMurdo Island/Ile McMurdo
  • Ile Murray

Malawi

Malaysia

Isle of Man

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

New Caledonia

New Zealand

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", 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, and many places in Dunedin have names mirroring those in Edinburgh. Inchbonnie is a hybrid of Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic

Norway

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

[Seychelles]

South Africa

South Georgia

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Tristan da Cunha

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Islands

Vanuatu

Wales

Zambia

Zimbabwe

  • 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.
  • * Barbourfields
  • * Burnside
  • * Douglasdale
  • * Glencoe
  • * Glengarry
  • * Kelvin, Kelvin East, Kelvin North and Kelvin West
  • * Lochview - in reference to Lakeside Dam.
  • * Montrose Old Church
  • * Morningside
  • * Paddonhurst
  • * Southdale.
  • Harare also a native name - suburbs include
  • * 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