Scottish Place Names J

JEDBURGH OLD COUNTY: Roxburgh NAME ON MAP: Jedwarth DATE: 1251 EARLIEST RECORD: Gedwearde DATE: a.800 MEANING: "OLD ENGLISH worth `enclosure, settlement' on Jed [Water]". The change to MIDDLE ENGLISH burg is difficult to date: it was Jeddeburgh in c.1160, but still Jedward in 1500. The river name may be related to BRYTHONIC gwd and mean `winding'. Just possibly OLD ENGLISH gead `spear, pike' was the nick‑name of the landowner here, and the river took its name from the place through which it flowed. `Back formation' of river names is common in England.

JOHNSTONE OLD COUNTY: Renfrew NAME ON MAP: Jonestone DATE: 1292 MEANING: see the entry for Johnston under Clan Names, but note that this is a different place of the same name. Nothing is known of the John who settled here; a large cotton mill was built here in the 1780s and it is now a suburb of Glasgow.

JURA OLD COUNTY: Argyll (Hebrides) NAME ON MAP: Dure DATE: 1335 EARLIEST RECORD: Doirad Eilinn DATE: 678 MEANING: the earliest record, from The Annals of Ulster, would be GOIDELIC Doirad's eilean `island'. The personal name could have meant `broken hearted'. The name has contracted over the centuries and may mave been influenced by OLD NORSE djur `deer' and ey `island'.