East Lothian is the Scottish county east of Edinburgh, on the corner where the Firth of Forth meets the North Sea. To the south, it is bordered by the long line of the Lammermuir Hills. Between hills and sea stretches the East Lothian plain, which offers some of the best agricultural land in Scotland.
Over thousands of years, this land has drawn wave upon wave of immigrants, with different cultures and speaking different languages. Each group named the land in their own way, whether adopting the place-names of their predecessors or adapting them or creating new names. As a result, East Lothian has a wonderfully varied collection of place-names, providing windows on the past.
This book presents a selection of these names, mainly those of major settlements and landscape features, as well as names which illustrate particular periods of history, and some interesting or curious names.
Liz Curtis
2025
*** Update from 23 November 2025 ***
The second edition of the book is now available via the link below.
The main change from the first edition is a new interpretation of the name Bass Rock, contributed by Arne Kruse. There are also some minor changes to the text and new photographs of the following: the Aberlady cross, Bolton Parish Church, Lennoxlove House, Newhailes House and the house sign Endrigg, which marks the end of the book.