Language Notes

Element Meaning

G muileann ~ mill; obscure element

Sources

There is some confusion surrounding this name. There are two separate places, four miles apart, one called Milngavie and the other

Milndavie:

Mylnedavie RPS 1649 [1649/1/444] (This is misidentified on rps.ac.uk as Milngavie)
Mildavy 1747-55 Roy
Milndavie 1832 Thomson

Milngavie:

Mylnegaivie, Milnegaivie, Milngaivie RPS 1649 [1649/1/444]
Milgay 1654 Blaeu Lennox
Millgavie Roy 1747-55
Milngavie 1832 Thomson

Additional Information

Although Muileann Dhàibhidh is often used for Milngavie, this seems to be based partly on an assumption that some of the early forms for Milndavie are actually Milngavie. It is also based on the assumption that the pronunciation of the English name of [gai] or ‘guy’ relates to the Gaelic pronunciation of Dàibhidh as [dai]. The loss of the bilabial however surely occurred in a Scots context rather than a Gaelic one. It would appear that the secondary element in Milngavie is obscure.

Alternative Forms