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Scott (surname)

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Scott is a surname of English and Scottish origin.[1] It is first attributed to Uchtredus filius Scoti, who is mentioned in the charter recording the foundation of Holyrood Abbey and Selkirk in 1120, as well as to the border Riding clans who settled Peeblesshire in the 10th century and to the family lineage of the Duke of Buccleuch.[2]

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Etymology and history of the surname

Auld Wat of Harden by Tom Scott. A romanticized image of notorious border raider and clan member Walter Scott of Harden.

The surname Scott (Scot, Scotts, Scutt, Scotter), as opposed to its earlier unrelated usage, first appears in the 12th century and derives from the Anglo-Scottish border and its medieval border clans.[1][3] Scott is one of the twelve most common surnames in Scotland. Clan Scott was one of the most powerful of the Riding clans of the Scottish borders and rose to power in the turbulent, often violent region, where they conducted fierce raids and battles with neighbouring clans.

The surname appears in Kent, England by the 14th century, the family of Scot's Hall being a notable example. Descent is thought to be from Alexander de Balliol or William de Balliol le Scot, brothers of John de Balliol King of Scotland, or from retainers of King David I of Scotland who held lands from the Earl of Huntingdon.[1] By the 17th century, the name is first recorded in Ireland as a surname.[3] There is no evidence that the surname originated with the first Gaelic settlers from Ireland, despite its use as a marker for Gaels by the Romans. Moreover, in the medieval period, the surname was associated with the Kingdom of Scotland rather than the early Irish medieval Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada, whose inhabitants did not refer to themselves as such, even though separate sources claim that the name was derived from the Scots who invaded Dalriada (Argyll) from Ireland.[4]

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