Communities, neighbourhoods, districts and outlying suburbs with names that occur only in Scotland and not elsewhere in the British Isles, and/or are definitely, or most probably, of Scottish origin are:
For comparability with other cities around the world, Greater Wilmington has been defined as the entire urban area extending from the Pennsylvania state line in the north to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in the south, and taking in the Elkton area in neighbouring Maryland. Of the names of the 714 communities and neighbourhoods in the Wilmington-Newark-Glasgow-Elkton metropolitan area that have been identified to date, 126 (17.7%) are based, in whole or in part, on place names that can be found in Scotland, on Scottish family names, or on Scottish words. Of course, many of the names are associated with other parts of the British Isles as well but at least 50 (7.0%) of these appear to have an exclusive link with Scotland.
- Barkley - Black (1996), the authority on Scottish family names, lists Barkley as an alternative spelling of the Scottish surname Barclay.
- Belltown Woods - there are many places in Scotland with Bell as part of the name. The list includes Bell Bay in North Ayrshire, Bell Craig in the Scottish Borders and in Dumfries & Galloway, Bell Hill in Borders, Bell Rock in Fife and South Ayrshire, Bell Stane in North Ayrshire, Bell Wood in Aberdeenshire, Bellfield in Aberdeen City and South Ayrshire and numerous others. Bell is a fairly common Scottish surname (ranked 37th in a 1976 survey of family names in Scotland) and is a sept of Clan Macmillan. Considering that Belltown Woods is very close to Glasgow, Delaware (see below), a Scottish connection seems quite likely.
- Cameron Hills (Cameron in Fife, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire). Cameron is an ancient Scottish family name, the origin of which has been speculated to mean either 'crooked (or wry) nose' (Gaelic) or 'curved hill-brow' (Old Welsh).
- Clearfield (Aberdeenshire).
- Cleland Heights - there is a Cleland in North Lanarkshire and there is also a surname Cleland, derived from the place name. An early Cleland married William Wallace's sister.
- Cranston Heights - there is a Cranstonhill in Glasgow and a barony of Cranston in Midlothian. Miss Cranston's Tearooms were also well known in Glasgow at the end of the 19th century.
- Drummond North, Drummond Ridge and The Village of Drummond Hill (Drummond in Highland and Stirling). Drummond is a Scottish surname dating back to Sir Malcolm de Drymen, a hero of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Drymen is a small town in the far west of Stirling, near Loch Lomond. The illustration here is of Drummond Castle in Perthshire.
- Duncan Glen, Duncan Village and Duncan Woods - although there are no places in Scotland with these names, Duncan is an ancient Scottish family name. The Duncan clan is descended from the medieval earls of Atholl, the name being an anglicisation of Donnachadh, from Gaelic donn (brown) and cath (war), suggesting the meaning 'brown warrior'.
- Dunleith - although there are no known towns or other settlements in Scotland with this particular name, this neighbourhood is highly likely to have a name that was intended to sound Scottish. Leith is a well-known district of Edinburgh and occurs in many other place names in Scotland, while 'dun' is a Gaelic word meaning 'fort'.
- Elliott Heights - Elliot is a Scottish family name derived ultimately from the Old English Ælfwald, a common Saxon name on the Scottish Borders which was the original home of the Elliots. The Elliots later settled in Forfar (whence the modern place name in Angus) before heading south again, this time to Liddesdale where, by the late 16th century, "they had the doubtful honour of heading, with the Armstrongs, the list of the most unruly of the Border clans." (Scarlett, 1975, p. 60).
- Frasers Corner - Fraser is an ancient Scottish surname of Norman origin, resulting in place names such as Fraserford (Dumfries & Galloway) and Fraserburgh (Aberdeenshire - founded by Sir Alexander Fraser in 1546). The crest shown in the illustration is from the wall of Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire.
- Glasgow, Glasgow Court and Glasgow Pines - Glasgow is Scotland's largest city, with Greater Glasgow being the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom after London, Birmingham-Wolverhampton and Greater Manchester. A cathedral city since the 12th century, Glasgow's era of great prosperity began in the 18th century when it became a major port handling trade with the American and Caribbean colonies. Shipbuilding, steam locomotive construction and other heavy engineering works soon followed, earning Glasgow the title "Second City of the Empire." The name Glasgow is of Celtic (Brythonic) origin, based on words similar to Modern Welsh 'glas' (green-blue) and 'cau' (hollow). Glaswegians often pronounce the name as "Glezga". The illustration shows Glasgow's coat of arms with the motto "Let Glasgow Flourish". See Glasgow's Coat of Arms for more on this.
- Glen Kyle - Kyle occurs frequently as an element in Scottish place names, mainly in the Highlands, some examples being Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin, Kylehea and Kylesknoydart in Highland and Kylepark in South Lanarkshire. It also occurs in two northern English place names, including the river Kyle in North Yorkshire. Kyle is an anglicised form of the Gaelic 'caol', meaning a sea strait. Kyle is also an ancient Scottish family name first recorded in Ayrshire.
- Glendale (Highland). A remarkably large number of American cities have communities/suburbs called Glendale, a name simply meaning 'valley'. The unusual feature of this name is that it is a tautology - 'valley' features twice, first in Gaelic (gleann) then in Norse (dalr).
- Gordon Heights - Gordon is a place in the Scottish Borders, from which the Gordon family name is derived; it is also a traditional region to the north of Aberdeen. The name occurs as well in many other places throughout Scotland, examples being Gordonstoun, Gordonstown and Gordonsburgh. It is also found on the Isle of Man, probably having been taken there by Scottish settlers. The Gordon tartan most frequently seen is the regimental tartan of the Gordon Highlanders.
- Gordy Estates - there is a Gordieston in Dumfries & Galloway. Colloquially, "Gordy" is a diminutive of Gordon when used as a first name. Gordon as a surname is distinctly Scottish - from a place in Berwickshire named Gordon, possibly derived from Old Celtic 'gordun' meaning a 'hill-fort' (see also Gordon Heights above).
- Hamilton Park (Hamilton in South Lanarkshire). The name Hamilton has been associated with Scotland since the thirteenth century, having been taken there from Leicestershire in central England by Walter Fitz Gilbert (Sir Walter de Hameldone). According to the Penguin Dictionary of British Place Names (Room, 2003), Hamilton means 'farmstead in broken country' in Old English. Hamilton is one of the most frequently recurring Scottish place names around the English-speaking world. The illustration shows the mausoleum of the Dukes of Hamilton in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
- Hares Corner - According to Black (1996), Hair/Hare is from the Irish Gaelic O'hIr, 'descendant of Ir' and both forms were common in Kilbarchan, Ayrshire. Black lists a number of examples, the earliest being William Hare, burgess of Edinburgh in 1366.
- Henderson Heights - there is a Henderson's Rock in Argyll & Bute, presumably a reference to an individual bearing the Scottish family name of Henderson. The name has also travelled to England, e.g., Henderson's House in County Durham. According to Scarlett (1975), the Henderson clan can trace its ancestry to two sources: the Henrysons/Henrisons from Dumfiesshire in the border region, and Clan MacEanruig, or MacKendrick, who anglicised their name as Henderson, 'son of Henry' and who held lands near Glencoe in the Highlands.
- Highland Meadows, Highland West, Highland Woods, Highlands and The Highlands - possibly recalling the "Highlands of Scotland".
- Kirkwood and Kirkwood Gardens - there are places in Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Lanarkshire called Kirkwood, which is also a Scottish surname.
- Lynnfield (a small settlement south of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands).
- McClellandville - McClelland is a Scottish family name, a variant of MacClellan, from the Gaelic 'MacGill Fhaolain' or 'son of the servant of (Saint) Fillan'. Maclellans were numerous in Galloway in the latter half of the 14th century. The illustration shows MacLellan Castle in the town of Kirkcudbright, in Dumfries and Galloway.
- McDaniel Heights - although this name does not occur in Scotland as a place name, McDaniel is presumably a variant of the Scottish family name MacDaniell, a sept of Clan MacDonald.
- Millside (Argyll & Bute, Scottish Borders and East Ayrshire).
- Monroe Park - the name of this neighbourhood most probably commemorates James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States (1817-1825). Monroe is an alternative spelling of the Scottish surname of Munro, and is derived from the Gaelic 'Rothach' or 'a man of Ro'. According to Black (1996) their ancestors probably came from Ireland, from the foot of the river Roe in County Derry, which produced the place name 'Bunrotha' from which 'Munrotha' was derived.
- Pentland
occurs in several Scottish place names, the best known being the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh (pictured here) and the Pentland Firth (the channel separating the Orkney Islands from the mainland). Other occurrences include Pentland Hill in Dumfries & Galloway, Pentland Grove and Pentland Mains in Midlothian and the Pentland Skerries in the Orkney Islands. Although the name has been thoroughly anglicised, Pentland is one of the oldest place names in Scotland. In southern Scotland, it was derived from the Old Welsh/Cumbric word 'penn' meaning 'hills' (Room, 2003) while in the north its derivation is from the Old Norse Péttar, meaning 'Picts' (Nicolaisen, 2001). The small suburb of Pentland in the far north of the Wilmington area has streets called East Lanark Road and West Lanark Road, referring no doubt to Lanark in Scotland.
- Perth - presumably named for the historic city of Perth in central Scotland, the Scottish capital until 1437. The graphic shows the church of St Leonards in the Fields in Perth.
- Polly Drummond and Polly Drummond Hill - Drummond is a Scottish family name (see Drummond North above).
- Richardson Park - There are no places anywhere in Britain with the name Richardson, apart from an archaeological site in Wiltshire, southern England which was presumably named for someone with the surname Richardson. Richardson is a Lowland Scottish family name meaning, quite literally, 'son of Richard'. The name can be found in England as well, possibly taken there by Scottish settlers. In Scotland, the Richardson's are associated with clans Buchanan and Ogilvie.
- Skyline Crest, Skyline Orchard and Skyline Ridge - there is a Skyline Loch in Highland. This does not necessarily 'prove' that the names of these Greater Wilmington neighbourhoods have a link with Scotland, as 'skyline' may be a purely descriptive term, popularly used throughout North America.
- Stoneridge (Falkirk).
- West Haven (Aberdeenshire and Angus). As with Skyline (see above), this name may be purely descriptive and not necessarily Scottish (the neighbourhood is situated to the west of Wilmington).
- Windward - there is a Windward Farm in Fife, west of St Andrews.
- Windy Hills (a small hill in Aberdeenshire, near Woodhead). The Wilmington neighbourhood could, of course, have assumed its name for purely descriptive reasons.
- Wood Mill (North Lanarkshire). As with Skyline, West Haven and Windy Hills, this may be a descriptive name that also happens, coincidentally, to be Scottish.
Some of the following localities may also prove on further investigation to have a link with Scotland. However, most of these names are also associated with other parts of the British Isles while one or two are associated with places on the European continent:
- Alban Park - The name "Alban" as such does not occur in place names anywhere in the British Isles. However, it is clearly related to names such as St Albans, Albany and Albion (there is an Albany Burn in South Ayrshire). According to the Penguin Dictionary of British Place Names (Room, 2003), Albion/Albany is derived from the ancient Celtic name for Britain, which gave rise to 'Alba' as the Modern Gaelic name for Scotland ('Albain' in Modern Irish and 'Yr Alban' in Modern Welsh). The royal title 'Duke of Albany' is a Scottish title and was first conferred in 1398 upon Robert, brother of Robert III of Scotland (born John). On the other hand, the connection may be with the region south-east of Rome known as the Alban Hills, where the pope has his summer residence.
- Arden, Ardencroft and Ardentown - there are places called Arden in Argyll & Bute and in the City of Glasgow. Arden also occurs in other place names across Scotland, examples being Ardentallen and Ardentinny in Argyll & Bute, Ardendee in Dumfries & Galloway and Ardendrain in Highland. The name is not exclusively Scottish, however, since it occurs in many English place names, for example Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire (referring to the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare's 'As You Like It'). According to Room (2003), Arden is a Celtic name meaning 'high district', from which source the name of the Ardennes, the forested hills in Belgium, is also derived. The Modern Gaelic word for 'high' is 'àrd'. The village of Arden was founded in 1900 by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price and was inspired by the Garden-City Movement, which resulted in half of its area consisting of woodlands and open spaces (arden.delaware.gov). It is therefore very likely that either Shakespeare's forest or the Belgian hills were the source of the name, with a Scottish connection being less likely.
- Ashland (Dumfries & Galloway) also in Milton Keynes, England.
- Browntown - there are many places in both Scotland and England that have 'Brown' as an element in their name. The surname Brown is also very common in both countries, with surveys in the 1970s suggesting that it is the second most common family name in Scotland (after Smith) and the third most common in England (after Smith and Jones).
- Carrcroft and Carrcroft Crest - there are a few places in Scotland, and many more in northern England, which contain the element 'carr' in their name. In northern England, 'carr' means 'stony hill' and according to Addison (1978) is derived from a word related to Modern Welsh carreg, 'stone'. This may also be its meaning in southern Scotland, where names such as Carr Brigs (Fife) occur. However, it is equally possible that 'carr' in Scottish place names could refer to the Scottish family name of Carr or, in the Highlands (e.g., Carr Brae), to a Gaelic word having a similar meaning to the Welsh one.
- Cooper Farm - places based on the family name Cooper are found throughout both Scotland and England. Scottish examples include Cooper Cleuch (Scottish Borders), Cooperhill (Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire) and Cooper's Knowe (Highland). The graphic shows the Cooper family tartan.
- Edgemoor, Edgemoor Gardens and Edgemoor Terrace - there is an Edgemoor in Dumfries & Galloway as well as in Derbyshire, England.
- Garfield Park (Garfield in East Ayrshire). The name of this neighbourhood most probably commemorates President James Abram Garfield, the 20th US President, in which event there would not be a Scottish connection.
- Glen Farms - Glen means 'valley' in Gaelic but is used almost as commonly in Ireland as it is in Scotland.
- Greenbank (Scottish Borders, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Moray, Shetland Islands and South Lanarkshire) also fairly common in northern England, usually spelled Green Bank.
- Landers Park - According to Scarlett (1975), an authority on Scottish tartans, Landers is a Scottish surname, the family being a sept of Clan Lamont. Landers, however, is also a German family name.
- Marshallton, Marshallton Green and Marshallton Heights - there is a Marshall Moor in Renfrewshire, though Marshall occurs far more commonly in English place names. Marshall is a Scottish as well as an English surname; the Scottish Marshalls are a sept of Clan Keith. Marshallton was known as Hersey Bridge prior to 1836 when John Marshall purchased and expanded the local mill (www.villageofmarshallton.com). It is not known whether Marshall's ancestry was Scottish.
- Mayfield (Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh, Fife, Highland, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross, Shetland Islands and South Lanarkshire). Mayfield is also found throughout England but less commonly than in Scotland.
- Mitchell Estates - there is a Mitchell Hall in East Lothian, a Mitchell Hill in Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders, Mitchellhill in Aberdeenshire and Mitchellslacks in Dumfries & Galloway. Whilst place names based on the surname Mitchell are even more numerous throughout England, including Mitchell itself in Cornwall, there is a Mitchell clan tartan in Scotland (see graphic).
- Montgomery Woods - Montgomery/Montgomerie is a Scottish surname (of Norman origin), and is also the name of a town and former county in mid-Wales (again of Norman origin). It is probable, however, that the name of the Wilmington suburb, like so many other places in the USA, honours Irish-born General Richard Montgomery, a hero of the Revolution who was killed at the siege of Quebec, December 13, 1775. Alternatively, the name may have a Welsh origin, considering that Montgomery Township, in neighbouring Pennsylvania, was named by early Welsh settlers, many of whose descendants later migrated to Delaware.
- Newark (Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Orkney Islands and South Ayrshire) also in England, including the town of Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire. Although widely used in Scotland, this is essentially an English name, derived from Old English words meaning 'new building'. An article in Wikipedia notes that Newark, Delaware was "founded by Scots-Irish and Welsh settlers in 1694" but does not give an explanation of the origin of the name itself. The official Newark, Delaware website is also silent on the matter but states that King George II granted a charter in 1758 as a farming community.
- Rose Hill and Rose Hill Gardens - there is a place called Rose Hill in Highland, though this descriptive name is used far more commonly throughout England and is also found in Wales.
- Rosegate - this name is not found anywhere in the British Isles and might simply be a made-up name, though Rose is a Scottish, as well as a French and German family name.
- Rutherford (Scottish Borders) also in Durham, northern England. The 19th President of the United States was Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-1881) after whom this neighbourhood may possibly have been named.
- Scottfield - Scott is a common Scottish surname, originating in the Scottish Borders. As Black (1996) points out, however, there are more people with this Border Scottish surname in Northumberland than in the whole of Scotland. There are also many places in England with Scott as part of the name. Scottsdale, for instance, is the name of a place in Somerset, while Scott's Green is a district of Dudley, Greater Birmingham and Scott Hall is a district of the City of Leeds. The surname 'Scott' has nevertheless consistently appeared among the top 9 to 13 most numerous family names in four surveys conducted in Scotland between 1858 and 1976. Surveys in England, on the other hand, place Scott in roughly the 40th position, though their numbers would exceed those in Scotland by virtue of the size of England's population relative to that of Scotland.
- Shawtown - Shaw is a Scottish clan name but is claimed as an English family name as well. The name, both in Lowland Scotland and in northern England, is derived from an Old English word 'sceaga' meaning a small wood.
- Smith Mill Farms - Smith is the most common surname in both Scotland (where there is a family tartan) and England; it is also the 5th most common surname in Ireland and 13th in Wales.
- Taylortown - Taylor is a very common surname in both Scotland and England. A survey of surnames undertaken in the 1970s suggests, however, that it is the 5th most common surname in England compared with the 14th in Scotland.
- Todd Estates - there is a Todd's Hole in Angus. However, Todd occurs far more frequently in place names in England, particularly in the north. As a family name, Todd/Tod is both Scottish and English, originating in the Scottish Borders.
- Whites Village - White is both a Scottish and an English family name. The earliest record in Scotland is in 1097, the name being derived from the Old English word for white - 'hwit'. In Scotland, White and its variant Whyte are septs of Clan Lamont and Clan MacGregor.
- Wilson - there are several places in Scotland based on the surname of Wilson. The list includes Wilsonhall (Angus), Wilson Burn and Wilson's Pike (Scottish Borders), Wilson's Noup (Shetland Islands) and Wilsontown (South Lanarkshire). Wilson is even more commonly found in England, including the towns of Wilson in Herefordshire and Leicestershire. Moreover, Wilson is the eighth most common family name in England, Wales and the Isle of Man, according to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia. The Scots Wilsons are a sept of Clan Gunn and now have their own family tartan (seen here).
A third category of local names comprises places that definitely exist in Scotland, but there is nothing obviously "Scottish" about them. In these instances, the likelihood that the Greater Wilmington counterpart was named for Scotland is greatly reduced because these names are far more commonly associated with other parts of the British Isles. Many of the names of these localities are probably purely descriptive - coined to appeal to home buyers - and several may simply have been borrowed from other places in America.
- Afton - there is an Afton Bridgend, Afton Reservoir and Afton Water in East Ayrshire, though the name is more likely to recall places in southern England.
- Arbour Park - there is an Arbour in Argyll & Bute as well as in Lancashire, England. Arbour also features in several other place names throughout England.
- Ashley - there are a few places in Scotland called Ashley (in the City of Edinburgh, Highland and Perth & Kinross) but this name is used far more frequently throughout England.
- Beacon Hill (Dumfries & Galloway) but far more commonly found in England, and the name also occurs in Wales.
- Beech Hill - there is a place is East Lothian with this descriptive name but it occurs very commonly in England as well.
- Belford Manor - a village in the Scottish Borders is called Belford but the name is also found in at least two counties in northern England.
- Bellevue and Bellevue Manor (Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Orkney Islands and Perth & Kinross) also in England, Ireland and Wales, sometimes spelled Belle Vue. This is, of course, a French name, meaning 'beautiful view' but one that proved to be universally popular throughout the English-speaking world.
- Belvedere (West Lothian) also in England, and the famous Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria. Belvedere was a popular choice of name for localities during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines a belvedere as a "raised turret to view scenery from" (a word formed from the Italian words for 'beautiful' and 'see').
- Benton (Argyll & Bute) but used more frequently in England.
- Castle Hills (a hill in Aberdeenshire). The name is far more commonly found in several English counties, however.
- Chapel Hill (Aberdeenshire, Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Perth & Kinross and South Lanarkshire) also in England and Wales.
- Church Hill Estate - there is a hill in Easter Ross, Highland called Church Hill but the name occurs far more commonly throughout England and there are also at least three places in Ireland and one in Wales with this name.
- Fairfield and Fairfield Crest (Fairfield in Clackmannanshire, Shetland Islands and Stirling). Fairfield is even more commonly found throughout England and is also found in Ireland.
- Greenhill (Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire, Falkirk, Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross, Stirling and South Lanarkshire) but the name is used just as frequently in England and is also found in Wales.
- Hillside Heights - There are many places in Scotland called Hillside (in Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Inverclyde, Moray, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross, Shetland Islands and South Lanarkshire) but the name occurs just as commonly in England, sometimes spelled Hill Side, and is also found in Wales.
- Hilltop and Hilltop Manor (Hilltop in Dumfries & Galloway). Hilltop is very common in England (often spelled Hill Top) and the name also occurs in Ireland.
- Little Baltimore - there is a small settlement in Aberdeenshire called Baltimore. However, the proximity of Delaware to Baltimore in neighbouring Maryland suggests a reference to this city. The name would therefore have an indirectly Irish connection through the Calvert family's lands in County Cork but no connection with Scotland.
- Longwood (Dumfries & Galloway) also in England and Ireland.
- Manor (Stirling) but, as one would expect, this typically English-sounding name is found far more commonly encountered throughout England.
- Newport, Newport Estates and Newport Heights - there is a place in Highland called Newport. The name, which is probably purely descriptive, also occurs widely in England, Ireland and Wales - Newport is Wales' third largest city and is also one of the best known towns on the Isle of Wight in southern England.
- Oakwood Hills - villages called Oakwood can be found in the Scottish Borders, Moray and Perth & Kinross, but the name is used far more frequently in England.
- Ogletown - there are water features called Ogle Burn in East Lothian and Ogle Linn in Dumfries & Galloway but places with Ogle as part of the name are found more typically across the border in Northumberland and other parts of northern England.
- Parkside (Aberdeenshire, North Lanarkshire, and Perth & Kinross) also in England and Wales.
- Porter - there is a Porterstown in both Aberdeenshire and Dumfries & Galloway, Porterfield in Renfrewshire, Porterhall in South Lanarkshire and Porterside in West Lothian. Places with Porter as part of their name are found even more commonly throughout England. As a family name Porter is both Scottish and English.
- Riverside and Riverside Gardens - there is a Riverside in Stirling but the name is also used in England and Wales. These are probably purely descriptive names with no intended reference to any particular place in the British Isles.
- Southwood (Perth & Kinross) but far more common in England, and also found in Wales.
- Trinity Vicinity - there are places in Angus and in the City of Edinburgh called Trinity. However, being an ecclesiastical term, the name can also be found in Devon and the Channel Islands, not to mention Trinity College at the universities of Cambridge and Dublin.
- Wellington Hills and Wellington Woods - there is a place in Aberdeenshire called Wellington and also a Wellington House in Midlothian but Wellington is found more commonly in England than in Scotland. Wellington is a surprisingly popular place name in several American cities.
- Westfield (Aberdeenshire, Scottish Borders, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Moray, North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian) also found just as frequently throughout England.
- West Park (Aberdeenshire; also West Park Farm in East Ayrshire, West Parkfergus in Argyll & Bute, Westpark in South Ayrshire and Westpark in South Lanarkshire) though West Park/Westpark occurs even more commonly in England.
- Westwood Manor - there are several places in Scotland called Westwood (in Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Perth & Kinross, Stirling and South Lanarkshire). However, Westwood is also commonly found throughout England and is a favourite name for suburban neighbourhoods in other North American cities.
- Woodland and Woodland Homes - there is a Woodland in South Ayrshire, but this descriptive name is also found in five English counties.
- Woodside Hills and Woodside Manor - there are many places in Scotland called Woodside (in Aberdeen City, Dumfries & Galloway, City of Glasgow, Fife, Moray, North Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross) but Woodside is also a popular name throughout England.
Dunlinden Acres and Robscott Manor also have a Scottish ring to them but no such places exist anywhere in the British Isles. Dunlinden is probably a made-up name, using the Gaelic term for a 'fortress or 'hill fort' (or the Old English term for a 'hill') together with an Old English word for 'lime trees'. Robscott could simply be based on the name of someone called Robert Scott. Scott is of course a Scottish family name, though the inclusion of 'Manor' in this neighbourhood's name gives Robscott Manor a decidedly 'English air'.
It is not surprising to find several Scottish place names in this part of the USA. A large number of 'Scots-Irish' (i.e., ethnic Scots from the Irish province of Ulster) settled in Delaware and adjacent parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland during the 1720s, many of whom later moved south and west into what was then Indian territory, earning themselves the reputation of being tough pioneers. According to the authors of the best seller "The Story of English", it has been calculated that by 1776 (the year of American Independence) one in seven colonists was Scots-Irish. In Philadelphia, the proportion was said to be even higher - around one in three.
Acknowledgements:
- Scarlett, James D. (1975). The Tartans of the Scottish Clans. (Collins, Glasgow and London).
- Black, George F. (1996). The Surnames of Scotland. (Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh).
- Room, Adrian (2003). The Penguin Dictionary of British Place Names. (Penguin Books, London).
- Nicolaisen, W.F.H. (2001). Scottish Place-Names. (John Donald, Edinburgh).
- Addison, Sir William (1978). Understanding English Place-Names. (B.T. Batsford Ltd, London).
- McCrum, R., Cran, W., and Macneil, R. (1986). The Story of English. (Faber and Faber Limited, London and Boston in conjunction with BBC Books, London).
- City of Wilmington - Map of Wilmington Neighborhoods, 2005.
- Mapquest.com and Maps.Yahoo.com for the names of cities, communities, neighbourhoods and districts in the Wilmington suburban area.
- Websites, place name gazetteers and published Ordnance Survey maps of British and Irish cities, towns, villages and counties.
© Ian Kendall
If you wish to contact Ian about his research, his e-mail address is ian.kendall1@bigpond.com.
Melbourne, Australia, October 2005
Revised August 2008
