Plack Names. 5 



knowledge of the locality is often esseiiticil to the luimvelliiig of 

 a place name, the English speaking population having almost 

 entirely changed it. The locality of the Valley of the Cairn and 

 neighbourhood, where names of ancient and more modern are 

 mixed uj), aflbixls us examples of such a discrepancy, though the 

 place names are for the most part fairly easily determined. 



It may be well to glance at what were the dift'erent races which 

 inhabited lowland Scotland from time to time, and from wJiom 

 the place names were most likely derived. To begin with, the 

 Koman invasion lasted from b.c. 55 to a.d. 420, but there arc 

 few Casters or Cesters, identified with Roman occupation, to be 

 found in the south of Scotland. The most ancient inhabitants 

 that we know of were the Iberians, but there are few if any place 

 names derived from their language, unless it be Urr and Isla 

 (Isle). 



The peo^de whom the Konians conquered were the Cymri, or 

 Britons or Welsh, but these had not yet reached this part of 

 Scotland, which was occupied by the Goedilic Celts, the same as 

 the Irish, Manx, and Cornish, and included the Northern and 

 Southern Picts, " the Picti " (Phichti) of Caledonia — the 

 land of trees and forests — who more properly occupied the northern 

 two-thirds of Scotland. These mingled with the Iberian abori- 

 gines — characterised as dark-haired, long-skulled, short people, 

 cave dwellers, ethnologically like the Basques, now fast disappear- 

 ing, and the Atticot Picts west of the Nith and in Galloway. 

 We may place the period about the second or third century. 



Associated with these about the fifth and sixth centuries we 

 have the Scots who came from Ireland (Erin); and settled in 

 Lornc and Argyle, and originated the West Highland Clans. 

 (Some of the East Highland Clans, if you may so call them, are 

 French, like the Frazcrs, Hays, Arc.) St. Ninian began his conver- 

 sion of the Picts about the fourth century. This is a landmark. 



It was not till the eighth century that Galloway was conquered 

 by Alpin, King of the Scots, Avhich would have an influence in 

 eliminating the British language. No doubt the names of places 

 would be somewhat established by tliis time, for we have traces 

 of British words. 



Between the sixth and ninth centuries certain adventurers had 

 come from the Continent, viz., the Angles, Jutes, Saxons, and 

 Danes of the Teutonic stock, and these originated the northern 

 English names. Then came tlie Scandinavian tongue — the people 



