Scott (surname)
Scott is a surname of Scottish origin. It is first attributed to "Uchtredus filius Scoti" who is mentioned in the charter recording in the foundation of Holyrood Abbey and Selkirk in 1120 and the border Riding clans who settled Peeblesshire in the 10th century and the Duke of Buccleuch. Etymology and history of the surname. The surname Scott (Scot, Scotts, Scutt, Scotter) as opposed to its earlier unrelated usage first appears in the 12th century and derives from the Anglo-Scottish border and its medieval border clans. Scott is one of the twelve most common surnames in Scotland . Clan Scott was one of the most powerful of the Riding Clans of the Scottish borders and rose to power in the turbulent, often violent region, where they conducted fierce raids and battles with neighboring clans. The surname appears in Kent, England by the 14th century and is thought to descend from Alexander de Baliol or William de Baliol le Scot, brothers of John de Baliol King of Scotland, or from retainers of King David I king of Scotland who held lands from the Earl of Huntingdon. By the 17th century the name is first recorded in Ireland as a  surname. There is no evidence the surname may have originated with the first Gaelic settlers from Ireland despite its use as a marker for a Gael by the Romans. Moreover, in the Medieval period the surname was associated with the Kingdom of Scotland rather than an early Irish Medieval Gaelic kingdom DalRiada who did not refer to themselves as such, even though separate sources claim that the name was derived from the Scots who invaded Dalriada (Argyll) from Ireland.