When Was Scotland Called Caledonia? Roman Era (1st Century Onward)

Caledonia was the Latin name used by the ancient Romans for the land north of their province of Britannia—roughly corresponding to modern Scotland north of the Firth of Forth and Firth of Clyde.

Timeline

• c. 1st century CE: Roman authors (Tacitus, Ptolemy) use Caledonia / Caledonii.
• 79–84 CE: Agricola's campaigns; Battle of Mons Graupius (Tacitus).
• 122 CE: Hadrian's Wall built—Caledonia = beyond the Wall.
• 142 CE: Antonine Wall (Forth–Clyde) briefly pushes border north.
• Post-Roman (5th c.+): Term fades; "Pictland," then "Alba," then "Scotland" (from Scoti, Irish raiders).

Who Were the Caledonii?

• Confederation of Pictish tribes (Latin Picti = "painted people").
• Spoke Pritennic (early Brittonic/Cumbric)—Celtic language ancestral to Welsh, Cornish, Breton.
• Not Gaelic (Scots/ Irish); Gaels arrived later (Dál Riata, 5th–6th c.).

Modern Usage

• Caledonia = poetic/romantic name for Scotland (e.g., "Caledonian Sleeper" train, Caledonian MacBrayne ferries, Glasgow Caledonian University).
• New Caledonia (Pacific) named by Cook (1774) — reminded him of Scotland.

Caledonia = Roman-era Scotland (Highlands), Pictish, pre-Gaelic.