Scott
/skɒt/noun
A surname and given name derived from the ethnonym for a person from Scotland or, historically, a Gaelic-speaking raider.
Did you know?The medieval Latin word Scottus could mean both ‘Irishman’ and, later, ‘Gael from Scotland,’ showing how names for peoples shifted as political identities changed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Celtic
PCelt
*skotti
“likely a tribal or ethnic label for Gaels/Irish people”
Late Latin
Latin
Scotti
“the Irish or Gaelic raiders known to Roman writers”
Old English
OE
Scottas
“the Irish; later also Gaels from Scotland”
Old French
OF
escot
“a Scot; a Scottish person”
Middle English
English
Scot
“a person from Scotland”
Modern English
English
Scott
“a surname, given name, or reference to a Scottish person”
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