TRANSACTIONS OF SKCTlON II. 7&0 



10. On Supirt- sternal Bones in the Human t^ubject. 

 By Principal Mackay, M.D., LL.D. 



1 1 . TIte Frequency and Pigmentation Value of Surnames of School Children 

 in East Aberdeenshire. By J. F. Tocheb, F.I.C, and J. Gray, B.Sc. 



In the course of a pigmentation survey carried out by us in East Aberdeen- 

 shire in 1896 and 1897 we obtained the statistics of the surnames and pigmentation 

 of 14,561 (practically the ^vhole) school children there. An analysis of the 

 physical characteristics apart from the surnames has already been published.^ 

 The present paper deals with the distribution of the frequencies of surnames and 

 their correlation with pigmentation. We have found that among the 14,561 

 children there are 751 dirt'erent surnames. The frequency of these surnames 

 varies between 1 and 267, Milne being the most i'requent, the next in order being 

 Smith, Taylor, Stephen, and Bruce. If the surnames are arranged in order of 

 frequency a curve representing the frequency takes the form roughly of a 

 rectangular hyperbola. The distribution of surnames is very unequal: for 

 example, one-half of the population has to be content with 12^ per cent, of the 

 surnames, while one-half of the surnames is monopolised by 950 persons. 

 Hereditary surnames were not in common use in Scotland until the thirteenth and 

 fourteenth centuries. There is a presumption, therefore, that the present pos- 

 sessors of surnames inherit some of the physical characteristics of ancestors of that 

 date. It becomes necessary to investigate the origin of surnames. We have divided 

 thsm broadly into two classes: (1) Lowland, including names of Anglo-Saxon, 

 Norman, and Scandinavian origin ; (2) Highland, including names derived from 

 the names of Highland clans. Of the 751 surnames, sixty-three were Highland, 

 representing 13-14 per cent, of the population. It is interesting to note that in 

 a previous investigation- we came to the conclusion, from an analysis of the 

 measurements of the adult population, that the Highland element was present to 

 the extent of 14 per cent, in East Aberdeenshire. We have calculated the 

 pigmentation value of the hair and eyes for the tifty-nine most frequent surnames, 

 and arranged them in series according to pigmentation. AVe find that there is a wide 

 variability in the pigmentation of different surnames, pointing to the conclusion 

 that septs or clans, as represented by surnames, tend to retain distinct physical 

 characteristics. Amongst the darkest in the series we find surnames common in 

 fishing communities. This supports the tradition that the fishing population on 

 the east coast of Scotland is oi" Belgian origin, since the Belgians are the darkest 

 people of Northern Europe. We find that the pigmentation of Highland 

 surnames corresponds closely with the pigmentation in their districts of origin. 

 An example of this is seen in the blond Erasers, having their origin in the blond 

 Inverness district, and dark Robertsons and Gordons in dark Perthshire and West 

 Aberdeenshire. The surnames of "\\'allace, Pirie, Grant, Park, and Birnie, we 

 find, have strong blond tendencies, while the surnames of Cordiner, Cruickshank, 

 Stephen, Stracban, Buchan, Paterson, and Whyte are darkest in our list. The 

 surnames having the largest percentage of red hair are Renuie, Scott, Grant, and 

 Thomson, and those having the least percentage are Johnston, Walker, Burnett, 

 Forbes, and Watson. 



The validity of these conclusions depends on whetlier they are confirmed by 

 a complete survey of the whole of Scotland, which, we hope, may be carried out 

 at an early date. 



' Journ. Anihroj). Inst., vol. xxx. pp. 104-125. 

 - See Brit. Assoc. Ilcjwrt, Bradford, 1900. 



