Hebrides - Etymology

Etymology

The earliest written references that have survived relating to the islands were made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, where he states that there are 30 "Hebudes", and makes a separate reference to "Dumna", which Watson (1926) concludes is unequivocally the Outer Hebrides. Writing about 80 years later, in 140-150 AD, Ptolemy, drawing on the earlier naval expeditions of Agricola, also distinguished between the Ebudes, of which he writes there were only five (and thus possibly meaning the Inner Hebrides) and Dumna. Later texts in classical Latin, by writers such as Solinus, use the forms Hebudes and Hæbudes.

The names of the individual islands reflect their complex linguistic history. The majority are Norse or Gaelic but the roots of several of the Hebrides may have a pre-Celtic origin and indeed the Haiboudai recorded by Ptolemy may itself be pre-Celtic. Adomnán, the 7th century abbot of Iona, records Colonsay as Colosus and Tiree as Ethica, both of which may be pre-Celtic names. Islay is Ptolemy's Epidion, the use of the "p" hinting at a Brythonic or Pictish tribal name, although the root is not Gaelic and of unknown origin. The etymology of Skye is complex and may also include a pre-Celtic root. Lewis is Ljoðhús in Old Norse and although various suggestions have been made as to a Norse meaning (such as "song house") the name is not of Gaelic origin and the Norse credentials are questionable.

The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was undertaken by Donald Monro in 1549, which in some cases also provides the earliest written form of the island name. The derivations of all of the inhabited islands of the Hebrides and some of the larger uninhabited ones are listed below.