Contents [hide]

Scot History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Ireland United States Canada West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Scot History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Scot was first used as a surname by the descendents of the ancient Boernician clans of Scotland. The Scot family lived in Roxburgh (now part of the region of Borders), Scotland. The surname Scott is of local origin as it denotes one who came from Scotland as in the Scot. The double 't' in Scott is now universal. Other records claim the name was for someone in England, who came to be from Scotland. Pre-dating surnames, the name may have been used for a Gaelic speaker within Scotland, who arrived with the Gaelic Dalriadans from Ireland in around 500 AD.

Early Origins of the Scot family

The surname Scot was first found in Roxburghshire, where a family seat was held on the lands of Ballendan at the head of the Ale water in that county. They descended from Uchtredus Scott who held the lands before 1107; he is on record as a witness to the foundation charter of Selkirk in 1120. Another early record is of Henricus le Scotte, who witnessed a charter by David Earl of Strathearn around 1195. By 1200, this great Clan controlled the borderlands of the Middle Marches of West Teviotdale, Ewesdale, Liddesdale, Buccleuch and Balweariel. 1

Early History of the Scot family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scot research. Another 212 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1450, 1565, 1611, 1644, 1647, 1649, 1661, 1674, 1685, 1693, 1705, 1745, 1771, 1832 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Scot History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scot Spelling Variations

In the many years before the invention of the printing press and the first dictionaries, names and other words were spelled according to sound, often differently with each person who wrote them. Spelling variations of Scot include Scott, Scot, Skotts, Scot, Scotach, Scott, Schotts and many more.

Early Notables of the Scot family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Walter Scott of Buccleuch (1565-1611), a Scottish nobleman and famous border reiver, known as the "Bold Buccleuch"
Mary Scott, 3rd Countess of Buccleuch and Countess of Tarras (1647-1661) Scottish peeress who married at the age of 11
Walter Scott, 1st Earl of Tarras (1644-1693), a Scottish nobleman who married the aforementioned Mary Scott when he was 14
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC (1649-1685)

Migration of the Scot family to Ireland

Some of the Scot family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scot migration to the United States +

In many cases, the ancestors of many of these Boernician-Scottish people are just now learning of their Scottish heritage. Since the trip was so arduous, and many were fleeing from poverty itself, settlers brought little with them and often had nothing of their personal history to hand down to their children. Clan societies and highland games have helped to correct this problem in the 20th century. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Scots to arrive on North American shores:

Scot Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Nicholas Scot, who arrived in Virginia in 1606
Jon Scot, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
Kath Scot, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 2
William Scot, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
Richard Scot, who landed in Virginia in 1655 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Scot Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nicholas Scot, who arrived in Virginia in 1723 2

Scot migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Scot Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Richard Scot, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Scot Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Scot, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1815
John Scot, aged 44, Scottish labourer who arrived in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1815-1816

Scot migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 3

Scot Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Scot, who settled in Barbados in 1667

Contemporary Notables of the name Scot (post 1700) +

David Scot (1770-1834), Scottish Orientalist and miscellaneous writer, born at Penicuik, near Edinburgh, son of William Scot, a small farmer, who is said to have sold his cow to pay the expense of printing a theological pamphlet
Jock Scot (1952-2016), born John Graham Manson Leslie, a Scottish performance poet
Marshall Scot Allman (b. 1984), American actor
Randy Scot Wittman (b. 1959), American professional basketball player and coach
Stephen Scot Oswald (b. 1951), former NASA astronaut with 3 shuttle missions and over 33 days in space 4
Scot Palmer (1937-2022), Australian sports journalist
Scot Boutier, American actor, known for The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1992)
Scot Mendelson (b. 1969), American five-time gold medalist and two-time silver medalist powerlifter
Scot McFadyen, Canadian film director, producer and music supervisor
Scot Eugene Brantley (b. 1958), American radio and television sports broadcaster

The Scot Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Amo
Motto Translation: I love

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Stephen Oswald. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/oswald.html