Scottish Girl Names
Scottish female names draw on three sources used in Scotland: Scottish Gaelic, Scots, and Scottish English. Distinctive feminine formations include Gaelic diminutives in -ag used for women’s names, and Scots/English feminine or diminutive endings in -ina and -ine. Place-derived names such as Ailsa also occur for girls. Christian influence is long-standing, with many female names historically linked to saints or biblical forms adapted into Gaelic and Scots.
Modern usage mixes revived Gaelic forms with Anglicized spellings and compound or hyphenated girl names. Examples found in Scotland include Ailsa, Aileen, Annabel, Arabella, Babbie, Kirsteen variants, Morag-type -ag forms, and occasional place-based choices like Alyth.
Showing 50
of 221 names
| Name | Meaning | Origins | Gender | Popularity (last 10y) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isla | Island | Scottish | Girl | 60,363 #1 | |
| Arabella | Beautiful; possibly 'yielding to prayer' | Italian, Latin, Scottish | Girl | 19,090 #2 | |
| Maisie | Pearl | Scottish | Girl | 15,499 #3 | |
| Bonnie | Pretty; attractive | Scottish | Girl | 10,135 #4 | |
| Kyla | From Gaelic 'caol' meaning 'narrow' or 'slender; from the narrows/strait' | Irish (Gaelic), Scottish | Girl | 6,078 #5 | |
| Aileen | Generally interpreted as “bright, shining” (also linked to Aveline meaning “little Ava”) | Irish, Scottish | Girl | 4,036 #6 | |
| Kenna | Feminine form of Kenneth - derived from Gaelic roots meaning "born of fire" (Cináed) and also associated with "handsome" (Coinneach). | Gaelic, Scottish | Girl | 3,825 #7 | |
| Maisy | Pearl (diminutive of Margaret) | English, Scottish | Girl | 2,308 #8 | |
| Annabel | Grace and beauty | English, Scottish | Girl | 2,183 #9 | |
| Greer | Watchful | English, Greek, Latin, Scottish | Girl | 1,014 #10 | |
| Maisey | Little pearl | Scottish | Girl | 569 #11 | |
| Lorna | Likely 'from Lorne' (a region in Scotland); sometimes linked to related Gaelic roots | English, Scottish | Girl | 456 #12 | |
| Ailsa | Named for Ailsa Craig; often interpreted as 'elf island' or 'Alf's island' | Gaelic, Scottish | Girl | 378 #13 | |
| Lyndsey | From Lindsey (Lincolnshire): 'island of linden (lime) trees'. | English, Scottish | Girl | 258 #14 | |
| Elspeth | God is my oath | Scottish | Girl | 250 #15 | |
| Ainsleigh | From Old English meaning 'one's meadow' or 'clearing' | English, Scottish | Girl | 212 #16 | |
| Payslee | From the Scottish town of Paisley; associated with the paisley textile pattern and often interpreted as 'place of worship' or 'church'. | Scottish | Girl | 206 #17 | |
| Paislie | Originally a place name meaning 'church' or 'place of worship'; now associated with the decorative paisley pattern | Scottish | Girl | 200 #18 | |
| Rona | Joy or song (Hebrew); also used as a Scottish/Irish name linked to Rhona/Róna. | Hebrew, Irish, Scottish | Girl | 198 #19 | |
| Rosslyn | From the Scottish place name Roslin; also used as a rose + -lyn compound, often interpreted as "little rose" | Scottish | Girl | 185 #20 | |
| Maysie | Diminutive of Margaret meaning "pearl"; also linked to the month-name Mae/May | English, Scottish | Girl | 175 #21 | |
| Kena | Varies by origin - Gaelic: related to Kenneth meanings ('born of fire' or 'handsome'); Sanskrit: a classical word meaning 'by whom' or 'from whom'. | Gaelic, Sanskrit, Scottish | Girl | 162 #22 | |
| Paislyn | Derived from Paisley - 'from Paisley' (a Scottish town); also associated with the paisley textile pattern | English, Scottish | Girl | 142 #23 | |
| Rossy | Either "little rose" (diminutive of Rosa/Rosie) or "from the headland" (derived from Ross) | English, Latin, Scottish, Spanish | Girl | 140 #24 | |
| Lesli | From the holly garden | Scottish | Girl | 131 #25 | |
| Ellsie | Little Elizabeth; 'God is my oath' (from Elizabeth) | English, Scottish | Girl | 113 #26 | |
| Morven | From Gaelic elements meaning 'big/great' (mòr) + 'mountain/peak' (beinn) - 'big mountain' or 'great hill' | Scottish | Girl | 111 #27 | |
| Glendy | From the valley; related to 'glen' (valley) | Irish, Scottish | Girl | 105 #28 | |
| Macklynn | Modern invented name combining 'Mac' ('son of') and 'Lynn' ('lake' or 'pool'), often interpreted stylistically as 'son of the lake' or a Lynn‑ending given name | English, Scottish | Girl | 105 #29 | |
| Caley | Varies by origin: commonly treated as a variant of Kaylee (modern coinage: 'Kay' + 'Lee') or as an anglicized Gaelic diminutive; possible senses range from the neutral compound meaning of Kay+Lee to 'faithful' if connected to Caleb. | English, Irish, Scottish | Girl | 100 #30 | |
| Mazy | Little pearl (diminutive of Margaret) | English, Scottish | Girl | 98 #31 | |
| Murron | Derived from Gaelic roots, likely meaning "sea‑born" or "belonging to the sea" (related to Muireann/Muirne) | Irish (Gaelic), Scottish | Girl | 87 #32 | |
| Paisli | From Paisley (a Scottish town); associated with 'little basilica' or 'church' | Scottish | Girl | 86 #33 | |
| Maesie | Pearl | Scottish | Girl | 81 #34 | |
| Glenna | Valley; from the valley | Gaelic, Scottish | Girl | 75 #35 | |
| Rhona | Likely from Gaelic rón 'seal' (related to Rónán, 'little seal') or as a variant of Hebrew Rona meaning 'song' or 'joy'. | Irish (Gaelic), Scottish | Girl | 74 #36 | |
| Lyndsay | From Lindsey; 'island of linden trees' (associated with Lincolnshire) | English, Scottish | Girl | 72 #37 | |
| Adaira | From the oak ford | Irish, Scottish | Girl | 71 #38 | |
| Leslye | From a Scottish placename meaning 'holly garden' (garden of holly) | Scottish | Girl | 69 #39 | |
| Arabel | Likely 'yielding to prayer' (from orabilis) or associated with 'lovable/beautiful' (amabilis/Bella) | English, Scottish | Girl | 65 #40 | |
| Leslee | Holly garden / from the holly garden | Scottish | Girl | 63 #41 | |
| Linzy | From the linden (lime) tree island; from Lindsey | English, Scottish | Girl | 61 #42 | |
| Nessia | Most commonly interpreted as "miracle" (from Hebrew nes); alternatively it can reflect "headland/promontory" (Old Norse/Scottish) or be an elaboration of Vanessa. | English, Hebrew, Norse, Scottish | Girl | 58 #43 | |
| Aftyn | From the River Afton; associated with 'river' or a place-name, sometimes linked with 'evening/afternoon' interpretations | English, Scottish | Girl | 54 #44 | |
| Aynslee | Derived from Ainsley: 'one's meadow' or 'clearing' | English, Scottish | Girl | 52 #45 | |
| Kirsty | Follower of Christ (Christian) | Scottish | Girl | 52 #46 | |
| Bonny | Pretty; attractive; good | English, Scottish | Girl | 51 #47 | |
| Arbella | Invokable; yielding to prayer | Latin, Scottish | Girl | 43 #48 | |
| Melvina | Feminine form of Melvin; generally interpreted as a derivative of Melvin/Melville, often rendered as ‘chief’ or ‘counsel protector’ in name‑meaning sources. | English, Scottish | Girl | 39 #49 | |
| Maicie | Little pearl | English, Scottish | Girl | 35 #50 |
Scottish Girls name popularity over time
Aggregated births across United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany for every Scottish-origin name in our dataset.
221
Names in this origin
51
With data in 2024
12,549
Births 2024
17,789
Peak year 2023