Scottish County Names
Scottish County Names in the 19th Century
Listed below are the names of the 33 counties of Scotland as they would have generally been known in the 19th Century, and referred to in the census records.
All but five of these continued in general use through much of the 20th Century. The five names which were lost to general use are those for the modern counties of East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), Midlothian (Edinburghshire) and West Lothian (Linlithgowshire), and for Angus (Forfarshire) and Moray (Elginshire). All five counties were originally known by the names of their administrative centres.
It is important to be aware of these original names, as they will be used in the birthplace records shown on the census returns. For instance, a birthplace may be recorded as “Edinburgh, Edinburghsh.” or as “Dundee, Forfarsh.”
Each County name is listed together with its 3-letter Chapman Code.
- Aberdeenshire
- ABD
- Argyllshire
- ARL
- Sometimes spelt Argyleshire
- Ayrshire
- AYR
- Banffshire
- BAN
- Berwickshire
- BEW
- Buteshire
- BUT
- The County includes the island of Bute, but also the island of Arran
- Caithness
- CAI
- Sometimes written as Caithness-shire
- Clackmannanshire
- CLK
- Dumbartonshire
- DNB
- The County Council adopted the spelling Dunbartonshire by 1914, although this spelling had sometimes previously been used unofficially
- Dumfriesshire
- DFS
- Edinburghshire
- MLN
- The County Council created in 1889 took the name Midlothian, a name that had sometimes previously been in use unofficially
- Elginshire
- MOR
- The County Council officially became known as Morayshire in 1918, but the term Moray had been in use as an alternative to Elginshire in the 19th Century
- Fifeshire
- FIF
- Often referred to simply as Fife
- Forfarshire
- ANS
- The County Council officially reverted to the ancient name of Angus in 1928
- Haddingtonshire
- ELN
- The County Council officially became known as East Lothian in 1921, a name that had sometimes previously been in use unofficially
- Inverness-shire
- INV
- Kincardineshire
- KCD
- Sometimes known as The Mearns
- Kinross-shire
- KRS
- Kirkcudbrightshire
- KKD
- Sometimes termed The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
- Lanarkshire
- LKS
- Linlithgowshire
- WLN
- The County Council officially became known as West Lothian in 1924
- Nairnshire
- NAI
- Orkney
- OKI
- Peebleshire
- PEE
- Sometimes referred to as Tweeddale
- Perthshire
- PER
- Renfrewshire
- RFW
- Ross & Cromarty
- ROC
- Officially created in 1889 by the merger of the separate Counties of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, although the census had always treated it as a single county
- Roxburghshire
- ROX
- Selkirkshire
- SEL
- Shetland
- SHI
- The County Council created in 1889 adopted the spelling Zetland
- Stirlingshire
- STI
- Sutherland
- SUT
- Sometimes written as Sutherlandshire
- Wigtownshire
- WIG
- Sometimes spelt Wigtonshire
See an 1884 map of Scotland that uses these 19th century county names.
