Elgin
| |
|---|---|
 St Giles' Church in Elgin's town centre | |
  Elgin Location within Moray | |
| Area | 9.47 km2 (3.66 sq mi) [3] |
| Population | 25,040 (2022)[4] |
| • Density | 2,644/km2 (6,850/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | NJ220626 |
| • Edinburgh | 117 mi (188 km) |
| • London | 443 mi (713 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ELGIN |
| Postcode district | IV30 |
| Dialling code | 01343 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Elgin (/ˈɛlɡɪn/ EL-ghin; Scots: Ailgin; Scottish Gaelic: Eilginn [ˈel(e)kʲɪɲ]) is a historic town (former cathedral city) and formerly a royal burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain where the town of Birnie is. There, the church of Birnie Kirk was built in 1140 and serves the community to this day.
Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a royal burgh in the 12th century by King David I of Scotland, and by that time had a castle on top of the present-day Lady Hill to the west of the town. The origin of the name Elgin is likely to be Celtic. It may derive from 'Aille' literally signifying beauty, but in topography a beautiful place or valley.[5] Another possibility is 'ealg', meaning both 'Ireland' and 'worthy'.[6] The termination 'gin' or 'in' are Celtic endings signifying little or diminutive forms, hence Elgin could mean beautiful place, worthy place or little Ireland.
- ^ "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba – Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland – Database". gaelicplacenames.org. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "Names in Scots – Places in Scotland". scotslanguage.com.
- ^ "Elgin (Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Matheson, Donald (2013). The Place Names of Elginshire. General Books. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-230-41565-9.
- ^ Mackay, George (2000). Scottish Place Names. Waverley Books. ISBN 9781902407876 – via Google Books.