In the sixth part of our series examining the meaing behind some of Glasgow’s historic place names and streets and the Gaelic language, we explore the meaning behind streets which have been made famous in song by Aztec Camera, a name which was connected to the city’s oldest malt whisky distillery and Glasgow’s earliest recorded family.
Many will question how Gaelic Glasgow actually is, but the ancient language has been spoken in the city for a millenium with it being a vitally important part of Glasgow’s make up and history which is best shown through place names.
The following is taken from the forthcoming book ‘Glasgow’s Gaelic Place-Names’ by Dr Alasdair C. Whyte, with Professor Katherine Forsyth and Dr Simon Taylor, set to be published by Birlinn Origin in September/October 2023.
Dr Alasdair C. Whyte is a writer/singer/performer from Muile~Mull. He currently holds a Research Fellowship in Name Studies at the University of Glasgow. He was named Scottish Government Gaelic Ambassador of the Year at the National Mòd in Glasgow in 2019 and was recently named on The Saltire Society’s inaugural ‘40 Under 40’ list.
His first book, Maim-slè, a book of new writing in Gaelic and English about language shift, sustainability and identity, was published in 2021 and shortlisted for the Donald Meek Award for Best Non-Fiction Book at the 2022 Gaelic Literature Awards.
From Kenmuir to Polmadie here are the next 10 place names in and around Glasgow in our series.
1. Kenmuir
The name of this old settlement lies behind several place-names and street-names in the east of the city on the north bank of the Clyde, including Kenmuir Hill and Kenmuir Road. Recorded as Kenmor in the 1230s. The original name contains the Gaelic words ceann ‘head, end’ and mòr ‘big’. In place-names, ceann usually refers to the head, end or edge of a feature.
2. Kenmure
First recorded as Kenmor in 1242, an old settlement in north-east Glasgow. It lies behind several names in what is now Bishopbriggs, including street-names like Kenmure Avenue and Kenmure Gardens. Another Gaelic name meaning ‘big head’ or ‘big end’. In this case, the original name Ceann Mòr may refer to its location right at the north end of the old Glasgow or Barony parish.
3. Keppoch (in Keppochhill)
From the Gaelic word ceapach meaning, very specifically, ‘a plot of land cleared of woodland and prepared for cultivation’. Recorded as Capoch in 1510, survives in street-names like Keppochhill Road. A number of place-names elsewhere in Scotland contain this Gaelic word.
4. Killermont
The name behind Killermont Street in the city centre and the Aztec Camera song of the same name. The original settlement was in the north-west outskirts of the modern city and it gives its name to several streets and a primary school in this area, in what is now Bearsden. From Gaelic Ceann Tèarmainn meaning ‘end of a sanctuary’. The sanctuary in this case is the legal sanctuary around the important medieval church of Kilpatrick (from Gaelic Cill Phàdraig meaning ‘church of Saint Patrick). Of old, anyone within this sanctuary was guaranteed security. The old settlement of Killermont lay on the boundary of the old parish of New Kilpatrick.