Start by asking what the name identifies
A name on a roadside sign, walking map or visitor leaflet may identify several different things: a settlement, an estate, a stretch of coast, a viewpoint or an attraction. Before asking how old the name is, establish exactly what it refers to. A viewpoint named after a nearby glen is not necessarily evidence that people historically used that name for the viewpoint itself.
It helps to distinguish a place-name from a descriptive label. “Old harbour” might be a long-used local name, a straightforward description or a title selected for a visitor map. None of those possibilities makes the sign useless. The mistake is treating its wording alone as proof of how earlier residents described the place.
Look for a trail of use, not a single first appearance
Historic names often leave traces in maps, written records and local speech, but those traces may differ in spelling or form. A practical first step is to compare several sources made for different purposes: an older map, a later map, a local history and any available record tied to the site. Note what each source actually labels. Does the name belong to the hill, the farm below it or a wider district?
One appearance is a clue rather than a verdict. A name found on an old map may have been supplied by a surveyor, while a name absent from that map may still have been used locally. Likewise, a visitor-facing name may preserve an older term even if the sign displaying it is recent. The strongest interpretation comes from a pattern of use, with gaps and disagreements acknowledged rather than smoothed away.
Pay attention to language and spelling
Scotland’s place-names reflect several languages and long histories of contact among them, including Gaelic, Scots, English and Norse. A name that looks unfamiliar to an English-speaking visitor is not necessarily ancient, and one written in English is not necessarily new. Names can be translated, respelled, shortened or adapted for maps and signs while remaining connected to a place’s earlier identity.
When two forms appear together, ask how they relate. Is one a translation of the other, a different spelling, or a separate name for a nearby feature? Avoid deciding from appearance alone. An appealing explanation of what a name “must mean” may overlook pronunciation, changes in spelling or the language from which it came. If the origin is uncertain, describing the competing possibilities is more honest than choosing the most picturesque one.
Recognise what tourist labels are designed to do
Visitor labels often need to be brief, memorable and easy to locate on a map. They may describe an experience, such as a castle walk or scenic route, rather than reproduce a name used by past communities. A label can also bring several stops together under one convenient heading. Those are reasonable ways to guide a trip, but they answer a different question from “What was this place called?”
Compare how a name is used across contexts. Does it appear only on attraction signs and promotional material, or also on maps and in accounts concerned with the surrounding landscape? Is it applied consistently to one site, or does its boundary shift between guides? These checks cannot establish an exact date of origin on their own, but they can show when a name is functioning mainly as a visitor-facing description.
Use names responsibly in travel and storytelling
If you are writing a caption, filming a location or planning a heritage walk, keep the distinction visible. You might say that a site is “promoted as” a particular attraction, “marked on this map as” a named feature, or “known locally as” a name when you have support for that wording. These small choices tell readers what kind of evidence they are seeing without interrupting the story.
It is also worth listening to people who live in the area, while recognising that local usage need not be uniform. Different generations or neighbouring communities may use different names. Instead of seeking one perfect label, record which name belongs to which context. A careful place-name can open a richer view of the landscape: not just how a destination is presented to visitors, but how people have navigated, described and remembered it.
