indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from location)
Usage Scottish
Meaning & History
Anglicized form of Scottish-Gaelic Gallaibh, which means "among the strangers" (referring to the Norse). The name of the Catti survives in the Gaelic name for eastern Sutherland, Cataibh, and in the old Gaelic name for Shetland, Innse Chat. The Caith element of the name Caithness comes from the name of a Pictish tribe known as the Cat or Catt people, or Catti. The -ness element comes from Old Norse and means "headland". The Norse called the area Katanes which means "headland of the Catt people", and over time this became Caithness