Of the names of the 114 suburbs in the East London-Mdantsane-Gonubie area, 19 (16.7%) can be found in Scotland or are based on Scottish family names. Of course, some of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well, but many of them (10.5%) are unique to Scotland, or are readily identifiable with places in Scotland that are based on the same names.
There are 11 metropolitan areas in South Africa with a population of half a million or more. Of these, East London shares the distinction, along with Port Elizabeth, of having the highest proportion of suburban names with Scottish connections.
Official suburbs and other localities with names that are definitely or most probably of Scottish origin are:
- Abbotsford (Scottish Borders, the name of the residence of Sir Walter Scott) though also the name of a village in West Sussex, England. Considering the popularity of this place name around the world, the chances are very high that the East London suburb, like its counterparts in many other cities, recalls Sir Walter Scott's residence.
- Bonnie Doon (Aberdeenshire, spelt Bonnie Doune). The bridge over the river Doon in Alloway has become famous as the Brig o' Doon (seen here) because of Robert Burns. The only other city in the English-speaking world that has a neighbourhood with the same name is Edmonton in Canada, which took its name from the homestead of Albertan Premier Rutherford, who had Scottish ancestry.
- Braelynn, Braelynn Hills and Braelynn Industrial - Braelynn may be a made-up name but certainly sounds Scottish. The element 'brae' (pronounced bray) is a Scots word meaning a hill or hillside, while 'lynn' may refer to a waterfall or the pool into which it plunges. The Scots word 'linn' is a blend of Gaelic 'linne' (a pool) and Old English 'hlynn' (a torrent).
- Duncan Village - although there are no places in Scotland with this name, Duncan is an ancient Scottish family name. The Duncan clan is descended from the medieval earls of Atholl, the name being an anglicisation of Donnachadh, from Gaelic donn (brown) and cath (war), thus meaning 'brown warrior'.
- Gately - there is a Gately Burn and Gately Rig in the Scottish Borders. The suburb was named after the owner, John Gately, first chairman of the Board of Municipal Commissioners, serving from 1873 (Raper, 1989, p. 174). According to the House of Names Heraldic website, Gately, and its numerous variations, is a Scottish family name first found in Perthshire.
- Glendevon (Perth & Kinross and West Lothian)..
- Lennox Estate - there is a Lennox Tower in the City of Edinburgh, Lennox Plunton in Dumfries & Galloway, Lennox Forest and Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire (seen below, from Campsie Fells) and Lennoxlove in East Lothian, all based on this Scottish surname.
- Morningside (Dumfries & Galloway, City of Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire and Perth & Kinross).
- Panmure (Panmure Gardens and Panmure Testimonial in Angus) The name of this East London neighbourhood probably honours the second Lord Panmure (11th Earl of Dalhousie), born at Brechin Castle in Angus and who was Secretary of State for War during the latter part of the Crimean War, serving under Lord Palmerston. Panmure is probably the oldest Scottish place name in East London. Today it is a vaguely defined neighbourhood and the name of a suburban railway station but according to some historians, the name earlier referred to what is now the CBD.
- Stirling (Aberdeenshire and Stirling). Most of the streets in this small suburb have Scottish names (Armadale Road, Dunbar Road, Roslin Road and Stirling Road).
Other suburbs with names that can be found in Scotland but that are not unique to Scotland are:
- Highgate (Dumfries & Galloway and North Ayrshire) but far more common in England and is also found in Wales.
- Newlands (Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Glasgow, Dumfries & Galloway, East and South Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Highland, Moray, Perth & Kinross, and Scottish Borders) also all over England. The illustration here is of Newlands Park in Glasgow.
- Parkside (Aberdeenshire, North Lanarkshire, and Perth & Kinross) also in England and Wales.
- Rosemount (Aberdeen City, Perth & Kinross and South Ayrshire) also in England and Ireland but less commonly than in Scotland.
- West Bank (East Lothian and Perth & Kinross; also Angus, spelt Westbank) also in England and Wales. The name of this East London suburb is probably purely descriptive of the fact that it is located on the west bank of the Buffalo river.
- Wilsonia and New Wilsonia are based, no doubt, on the surname Wilson. Several places in Scotland use this name. The list includes Wilsonhall (Angus), Wilson Burn and Wilson's Pike (Scottish Borders), Wilson's Noup (Shetland Islands) and Wilsontown (South Lanarkshire). Wilson is even more commonly found in England, including the town of Wilson itself in Herefordshire and Leicestershire. The Scots Wilsons are a sept of Clan Gunn and now have their own family tartan.
It may interest South African readers to learn that, as far as can be ascertained, East London is the only city in South Africa that has no suburbs with Afrikaans or Cape Dutch names. Founded by the British in 1847, in a part of South Africa that had never been colonised by the Dutch, East London proved to be a natural 'magnet' for British (including Scots) immigrants. The city initially developed along lines very similar to cities in Australia and New Zealand that were established around the same time (e.g., Adelaide, Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin) but on a smaller scale. The other sizeable group of pioneers in nineteenth century East London and its hinterland were the Germans.
Acknowledgments:
- Raper, P.E. (1989). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Second Edition). (Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg).
- James D Scarlett (1975). The Tartans of the Scottish Clans. (Collins, Glasgow and London).
- The House of Names Heraldic Website.
- East London Street Plan, 2001 (MapStudio, Johannesburg).
- Brabys website for an up-to-date list of suburbs.
- Websites, place name gazetteers and published Ordnance Survey maps of British and Irish cities, towns, villages and counties.
© Ian Kendall
If you wish to contact Ian about his research, his e-mail address is iankendall@bigpond.com.
Melbourne, Australia, November 2004
Revised May 2006
