Place name Evidence
Again whilst several place-names provide possible evidence for things, the lack of a historical record for most of these names makes it difficult to fully understand them. As a consequence this list of names contains many that are thought to reference things sites elsewhere and may do so here but equally they may not!
- Cnoc Ailiodair: This could have ON ljòð= ‘the people’ and perhaps originated as ON á lýða hnúk = 'towards the hillock of the peoples
- Cnoc a’ Lin: Grulin in various forms is used as evidence for things site on Islay (Macniven) and Mull (Whyte) stemming from ON grjót þing = ‘gravel thing’. Here Cnoc a’ Lin could refer to Craig Hasten and stem from ON hnjók þing = ‘hillock thing’.
- Lionacleit on Benbecula is another possibility of this root, ON þinga klett = ‘rock of the things’
- Craig Hasten: A prominent feature on the coast here. A possible root is ON hafs þing = ‘thing of the ocean’
- Eilean na Mi-chomhairle: This island comes from the ScG ‘island of bad council’ and is one of the small ones on the causeway route to Dun an Sticir. A similar name is found on Loch Finlaggan, Islay.
- Eskin: This could stem from ON eiðs þing = ‘thing of the isthmus’. A similar Norway name is Eiðsivathing, a thing site. This could possibly be the set of shielings at Stolie.
- Loch Maddy (ON lög maðr= ‘law man’)
- Lochportain: the second component here could stem from ON borg þing = ‘fort thing’. An obvious site would be the dùn on Loch na Caiginn. One wonders if it is a concidence that the four NW law provinces of Norway, where the Hebridean Norse settlers are thought to come from are called Frostathing, Gulathing, Borgarthing and Eidsivathing and within 10km of each other in the NE corner of North Uist, we have Frobost, Gulabaidh, Portain and Eskin
- Leathbhal: Henderson – one of the eminent early authorities of Scottish Place names – derives Laiaval ( the OS 1st edition name) from ON laga völl = ' law-field', a name used elsewhere for thing sites. There is another such name on South Uist. There is an open area below the crag that could represent this site.
- Loch Leódasaigh: This could come from ON lýðs ey = ' island of the people' referring to one of the islands in the loch here as an assembly place.
- Loch Taing: This loch is on Baleshare and close to Dùn Mór, an obvious prehistoric mound.
- Sidhean Tuath: ScG tuath usually means north but there is no Sidhean Deas and these names usually exist in pairs. Alternative meaning of ScG tuath = ‘people’ and so this could the ‘the people’s fairy mound’.
- Tobhta Hunder
- Uamh Creag Eideann: See Markus on Bute.
- Dun Eideann from Beveridge: See Markus on Bute.