Blair Collection > Place names in Strathbogie, with notes historical, antiquarian and descriptive

Names of Hills and Rivers.
the parish of Lesh'e ; and at Leuchars, near St.
Andrews, the name occurs as Formund, and For-
mond. These Fifeshirc names may have a
different origin ; but it is noticeable that in this
county there are more names, which seem to be
parallel to those in Aberdeenshire, than in al-
most any other county in Scotland. The spell-
ings ' mund ' and ' mond ' appear to indicate the
derivation monadh, which I suppose to be re-
presented in inon and man. Thus wo. have
Kelman (hill), Mormond, Moncrieffe, and Mon-
trose (Monross). In the old writings mon and
ma7i are frequently interchanged, as in Monecht,
also given Manecht ; Eglismonichto, Eggisman-
ichto ; Monar, Manar ; Mowny, Many ; Mona-
wee, Manywee ; Balmonthe, Balmon, Balmanie ;
Monbeen, Manbeen ; and Monelly, Manelly.
With such examples as these, taken from authen-
tic documents, I think I am right in holding
that man, in these north-eastern counties, often
represents mon, the acknowledged contraction of
monadh, a ' moorish hill.'
Adjoining the Fourman is the estate and
mansion house of Cobairdy, which originally
took the name from the hill, so called. The
old spelling is Culbardie (1596, Spald. CI. Mis.
IV., 155). O// means a 'hill back/ and bardh^is
different meanings. In such a name it might
signify an ' enclosure/ and Culbardie might thus
be the ' hill back of the enclosure,' that is, around
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