Scott History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

In the annals of Scottish history, few names go farther back than Scott, whose ancestors go back to the people of the Boernician tribe. The first family to use the name Scott 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 Scott family

The surname Scott 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