When reviewing Scottish naming traditions, one should keep in mind that Scotland has always been multicultural. Throughout the Middle Ages and Early Modern period each Gael had a single given name plus a patronymic byname. There were certain rules about what words could be used as given names and what could not. The original meanings of the names were still recognized. The Anglo-Saxon settlers, who came to South-East Scotland around the 6th century, followed the Germanic naming conventions. Their given names were composed of two lexemes. The number of lexemes was limited; the number of combinations, however, must have been huge. It was almost impossible to find two identical names.
There is a widespread opinion that Scottish families in the past followed a specific naming pattern, when naming their children: the first son was named after the paternal grandfather, the first daughter after the maternal grandmother, the second son after the maternal grandfather, the second daughter after the paternal grandmother, etc. According to John Barret Robb, however, it was not the original Scottish naming pattern. Presumably, in different regions of Scotland various naming traditions had been formed.
The traditional naming pattern is believed to have been in effect in Scotland prior to 1950. However, the findings from our online survey, conducted in January-March 2017, allow us to suggest that even in the 21st century Scotland, family naming traditions still occupy a very strong position.
References
Robb, J. B. The Scottish onomastic child-naming pattern // John Barrett Robb, family historian. URL: http://www.johnbrobb.com/Content/TheScottishOnomasticPattern.pdf (accessed 7 January, 2017).