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

244 Place Names in Strathbogie.
from the Teutonic family name of Wittings, the
origin also of Wittingham, Whittington, and
Weddington in England (Taylor's Words and
Places, p. 513).
Aitionn^ 'juniper or furze,' has been suggested
as the first part of the name, and this is possible.
Occasionally initial <7; becomes u\ and sometimes
we find that part of a Gaelic name is combined
with the English ' ton ' or ' town.' So Crannach-
town in Ireland is derived from Baile-na-gcran-
nacJi, 'the town of the trees;' and Ittingston
might have the same meaning as Ballinattin in
Waterford, ' the town of the furze ' (Joyce, 1.
519)-
I think, however, Ittingston is really derived
from a personal name. In Berwickshire is
Hutounehall, also written Atounehall. So, many
of our old names are found with and without the
initial //, sometimes in the same writing, as Hard
and Ard, Hogstoun and Ogstoun, Haltoun and
Altoun, The old forms of Ittingstown, Wit-
tingstoune and Utinstoun, may have dropped the
h, and possibly the original form may have
been Hutton's town. In 1277 a charter upon
the lands of Innyrathy was witnessed by Alan,
son of Hutting, seneschal of Buchan ; and in
Buchan is Wittingshill. Although we have no
authority for connecting this official with the hill-
name, there was a personal name in the district
which might have become Utting or Witting.