Up until modern times, Scots had a strict naming tradition for their children, usually after the child’s grandparents, parents,

 

aunties and uncles, or after their clan chief. Here is a simple explanation:

 

 

1st Born Son	Named for paternal grandfather
2nd Born Son	Named for maternal grandfather
3rd Born Son	Named for the father unless he shares a name with one of the grandfathers
1st Born Daughter	Named for maternal grandmother
2nd Born Daughter	Named for paternal grandmother
3rd Born Daughter	Named for the mother unless she shares a name with one of the grandmothers.
Subsequent children	Named for the paternal and maternal aunts and uncles.
If immediate family names ran out	Often named for the great grandparents/aunts/uncles or a friend.

 

If a child died, the next child born of that gender would often be named after the child who died. Also, the first born children

 

(or subsequent ones) could often be named after a benefactor, such as the clan chief, someone a parent inherited from or the

 

king (especially during the Jacobite risings, if you named your child George, it might mean your allegiance was Hanoverian or

 

if  you named your child James or Charles, that you were Jacobite. Of course, this wasn’t always the case, but it can be an

 

indicator.).

 

These are only guidelines, some families were more lenient than others, and over the years (particularly after the Jacobite

 

Risings, I noticed) the naming tradition relaxed a lot, especially the order in which the children were named.

 

Have fun and happy researching!