Guidance on street naming
We are responsible for the naming of new streets within our boundary. The following guidance offers advice on what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to naming streets.
Gaelic
We support Gaelic through our Gaelic Language Plan and we encourage Gaelic names based on local history and culture.
We will translate names, with street name signs being bilingual.
Street suffixes
Use suffixes that match the type of street:
- Main roads: street (sràid), road (rathad)
- Residential areas: drive (slighe), grove (doire), lane (caolraid), place (ceàrn), gardens (gàrradh), view (sealladh)
- Tree-lined roads: avenue (craobhraid)
- Curved roads: crescent (corran)
- Enclosed areas: court (cùirt)
- Pedestrian paths: close (clobhsa), vennel (aisir), walk (ceum), path (stairean), way (bealach)
- Terraces: terrace (barraidh)
- Steep roads: brae (bruthach), hill (cnoc)
Themes
You can use a theme for a group of streets.
Themes can be based on:
- local history or culture
- nature or geography
- Gaelic names for the area
For example:
- Scottish engineers: Telford Street, Stevenson Way
- Local features: Sealladh Càrn Eilrig (Carn Elrig view)
- Trees: Birch, Oak, Cedar
- Scottish cities: Stirling, Melrose
- Hills: Ben Wyvis Drive, Ben Macdui Close
What not to use
Do not use stem names (same first word with different endings) as this can confuse emergency services.
For example:
- Castle Drive
- Castle Crescent
- Castle Avenue
- Castle Road
We advise you not to use the name of a person who is currently alive.
Localities
There is no official definition of a “locality” in Scotland.
We may include a locality in an address if it helps identify the location more clearly. We will consider this based on nearby addresses and local context.
Localities are not often used in areas where street naming is already in place.
If a new locality is needed, we will consult Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland) to support the use of Gaelic names.