Alwhat, Allwhat (OS Name Book Kirkcudbrightshire 1844-51); Note the burn that runs off the hill on the Kirkcudbrightshire side is known as Allwhat Burn.
Alwhat (left) and Alhang (right) photo Robert Guthrie
In his notes on the place-names elements ail-, al- Sir Herbert Maxwell offers the derivation of Alwhat as ail chat (haat) ‘cliff of the wild cat’. The form Alquhat supports this derivation, i.e, quhat = chat
An alternative offering of Gaelic al ‘a rock’ and fada‘ long’ is given in the Ordnance Survey Name Book 1848-51 Kirkcudbrightshire Volume 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
References
[1] Edward Dwelly Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary (1902-1912)
