ARNOT
The surname Arnot is principally of Scottish origin and is a locational name derived from the lands of Arnot in the parish of Portmoak in Kinross‑shire and the region of Fife. The place name itself is believed to have arisen from the Gaelic words arn, meaning “eagle”, and cnoc, meaning “hill”, thus giving the interpretation “hill of the eagle” or “eagle’s hill”. In historical accounts it is also linked to the Gaelic word ornacht, meaning barley, indicating a place where barley was cultivated. These dual interpretations illustrate the depth of the name’s connection to the landscape and agricultural life of medieval Scotland.
Early documentary evidence of the surname dates from the late thirteenth century. The identification of Michael de Arnoth, dated to 1284, appears in the “Memorials of the Browns of Fordell” during the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland. In 1296 the name also appears with Henry Arnot of Fyfe, who rendered homage in the feudal court. By the fourteenth century the surname was recorded in several significant contexts: Michael de Arnot served as a garrison soldier in Edinburgh Castle in 1337; Henricus de Arnot, knight, witnessed the marches of Kyrknes and Louchor in 1395, as documented in a Census of the Priory of St. Andrew, Scotland; John de Arnot of Stewarton, Ayrshire, served as a jury member in 1417, and a later John de Arnutis is shown holding the lands of Arnot in the sheriffdom of Fife in 1429. These records demonstrate that the name was established among the landed and garrisoning classes of Scotland during the Middle Ages.
In the late eighteenth century a historian bearing the name, Hugo Arnot, published a work entitled “History of Edinburgh” in 1779. This publication further cemented the surname’s respectable standing within Scottish literary and legal circles. While the name remained firmly associated with the Scottish lowlands, over time variations in spelling emerged, reflecting the phonetic interpretations of the name by scribes and families: Arnott, Arnatt, Arnoth, Arnet, Arnett and others. These variants can be seen in different records from the same era and are often correlated with regional dialects and the ease of transcription in a largely illiterate population.
From the nineteenth century onward, emigration and diaspora have dispersed bearers of the name beyond the British Isles. Communities of individuals bearing the surname or its variants have been documented in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa. In these countries the surname often appears in several spelling forms – Arnott and Arnett being the most frequent. Despite this geographic spread, the name’s strongest concentration remains in Scotland, where it is associated with historical estates in Fife and the parish of Portmoak, and it continues to be a symbol of the country’s ancient knightly and landowning heritage.
In contemporary onomastic study the surname Arnot is treated as a Celtic locational name of high antiquity, with documented origins extending back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Its derivation from Gaelic elements that describe natural features or agricultural practices provides a clear link to the geography of the Scottish lowlands. The name’s documented presence in legal, military and literary records further confirms its significance within Scottish social history. The various spelling variants that have arisen over the centuries reflect the fluid nature of orthography in a pre‑standardised linguistic context, while the surname’s continued use worldwide attests to its enduring cultural legacy.
Typical given names associated with the Arnot surname
Male
- Andrew
- Charles
- David
- Fraser
- James
- John
- Keith
- Paul
- Robert
- Scott
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Fiona
- Gillian
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jean
- Jeanette
- Jennifer
- Joyce
- Julie
- Katy
- Marcelle
- Margaret
- Shirley
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Arnot in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 596 people named Arnot in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around nine in a million people in Britain are named Arnot.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Arnot
- Lizzie Arnot - Football player
- Arthur James Arnot - Australian electrical engineer/inventor (1865 to 1946)
- Robert Page Arnot - Communist journalist and politician (1890 to 1986)
- Frederick Stanley Arnot - Scottish missionary (1858 to 1914)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.