Session 1 - Place names in Scotland, yesterday, today, tomorrow | Rhind Lectures 2025

Humans have always had a fascination with the origins and meanings of place-names, a fascination which in our own civilisation we can trace at least as far back as the Old Testament. The systematic study of place-names in Scotland goes back several centuries, and this lecture will introduce some key figures in its evolution. The lecture will conclude with an overview of the present state of the discipline and its future trajectory.

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The Rhind Lectures 2025, “Scotland's Place-Names” are presented by Dr Simon Taylor. Livestreamed and recorded by the Society at Augustine United Church. Sponsored by Ordnance Survey. 

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The Rhind Lectures 2025: 

Place-names make a unique contribution to our understanding of how we humans have interacted with our environment over the centuries. They afford us a rare glimpse into the minds of those who coined them – their concerns, their priorities, their perceptions of the world, both physical and spiritual.

Place-names also have much to teach us about languages, living and dead, and about their societal and political context. They are constantly evolving, acquiring new layers of significance, at the same time helping shape our identity and sense of belonging.

The Lecturer: 

Dr Simon Taylor is Reader in Scottish Name Studies at the University of Glasgow. He has worked in the field of Scottish place-names since the early 1990s, and has published widely on the subject, including several in-depth regional surveys. One of the founding members of the Scottish Place-Name Society in 1996, he is now its honorary Preses. He was editor of the Journal of Scottish Name Studies from its inception in 2007 until 2020.

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