Place name of the week

Greenock ~ Grianaig

The name Greenock (Grenhok in 1296) is from Gaelic Grianaig ‘sunny knoll’, relating to grian ‘sun’. Due to the importance of this place when Highland migration to Inverclyde was at its peak, the Gaelic form is well-known to this day. A Gaelic poem mentions Greenock in the phrase eadar Ceann sàileas Sìophort is Rubha Ghrianaig nan tonn ‘between the head of the (salt-water) loch of Sìophort and Greenock Promontory of the waves’. The promontory denoted is probably the one on which Fort Matilda is situated.

The name Greenock appears elsewhere in Scotland. The Braes of Greenock or Bràigh Ghrianaig are situated near Callander in Perthshire. Two more Greenocks, one in Ayrshire and one near Stirling are likely of the same origin, although no Gaelic forms are forthcoming. Grianaig is also the name of a patch of ground near Dùn Bhoraraig on the coast of Islay, though this may be Norse of origin.