What the World Calls Scotland: Names in 50+ Languages

Scotland's Names Across Languages

Scotland's endonym is **Alba** (Scottish Gaelic, pronounced [ˈal̪ˠapə]). The English name **Scotland** derives from Latin **Scotia** ("Land of the Scoti" — Gaelic raiders). **Caledonia** is the Roman name for the area north of the Antonine Wall, used poetically today.

Celtic Languages (Closest Relatives)

• Irish (Gaeilge): **Albain**
• Welsh (Cymraeg): **Yr Alban**
• Breton (Brezhoneg): **Alban** or **Alba**
• Cornish (Kernewek): **Alban** or **Alba**
• Manx (Gaelg): **Nalbin** or **Nerin**

Romance Languages (From Latin Scotia)

• French: **Écosse**
• Spanish: **Escocia**
• Italian: **Scozia**
• Portuguese: **Escócia**
• Romanian: **Scoția**
• Catalan: **Escòcia**
• Occitan: **Escòcia**

Germanic Languages (From Old English Scotlond → Latin Scotia)

• German: **Schottland**
• Dutch: **Schotland**
• Swedish: **Skottland**
• Danish: **Skotland**
• Norwegian (Bokmål/Nynorsk): **Skottland**
• Icelandic: **Skotland**
• Faroese: **Skotland**
• English: **Scotland**
• Scots: **Scotland**
• Yiddish: **שקאטלאנד (Skotland)**

Slavic Languages (Usually from German Schottland)

• Polish: **Szkocja**
• Czech: **Skotsko**
• Slovak: **Škótsko**
• Russian: **Шотландия (Shotlandiya)**
• Ukrainian: **Шотландія (Shotlandiya)**
• Belarusian: **Шатландыя (Shatlandyya)**
• Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian/Montenegrin: **Шкотска (Škotska) / Škotska**
• Slovenian: **Škotska**
• Macedonian: **Шкотска (Škotska)**
• Bulgarian: **Шотландия (Shotlandiya)**

Finno-Ugric

• Finnish: **Skotlanti** (from Swedish)
• Estonian: **Šotimaa** (from Finnish)
• Hungarian: **Skócia** (from German/Italian)

Baltic

• Latvian: **Skotija** (from German)
• Lithuanian: **Škotija** (from German)

Other European

• Greek: **Σκωτία (Skotía)** (from Italian)
• Albanian: **Skocia** (from Italian)
• Maltese: **Scozzja** (from Italian/Sicilian)

Non-European (Via Colonial Languages)

• Arabic: **اسكتلندا (Iskutlanda)**
• Persian: **اسکاتلند (Eskâteland)**
• Turkish: **İskoçya** (from Arabic)
• Hebrew: **סקוטלנד (Skotlend)**
• Hindi/Urdu: **स्कॉटलैंड / سکاٹ لینڈ (Skōṭlaiṇḍ)**
• Bengali: **স্কটল্যান্ড (Skaṭ-lāṇḍ)**
• Tamil: **ஸ்காட்லாந்து (Skāṭlāntu)**
• Telugu: **స్కాట్లాండ్ (Skāṭlāṇḍ)**
• Japanese: **スコットランド (Sukottorando)**
• Korean: **스코틀랜드 (Seukoteullaendeu)**
• Chinese (Mandarin): **苏格兰 (Sūgélán)** — "Su" (revive) + "Ge" (ge) + "Lan" (orchid/barrier). Phonetic.
• Vietnamese: **Scotland** (loan) or **Xcốt-len**.
• Thai: **สกอตแลนด์ (S̄kxd læ̂nd)**
• Indonesian/Malay: **Skotlandia**
• Swahili: **Skotilandi**

Summary

Two root families: **Alba** (Celtic, indigenous) and **Scotia/Scotlond** (Latin/Germanic, external). **Caledonia** survives poetically. Every language adapts one of these roots.