| Place-name: | Alwhat |
| Suggested Meaning: | rock of the cat |
| 1st element: | Gaelic al ‘rock’ |
| 2nd element: | Gaelic cat ‘cat’ |
| Blaeu Coila (1654): | No entry |
| OS Names (1855-57): | Alwhat, Allwhat, Alquhat |
| Location: | OS Map Six-inch Scotland 1892-1960 |
| Other Early Forms: |
| 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. |
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) |
| Maps |
| Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland |
| https://maps.nls.uk/ |
| OS Map Six-inch Scotland 1892-1960 |
| Ordnance Survey Name Books |
| scotlandsplaces.gov.uk |
| Ayrshire OS Name Book (1857-59) Vol. 49| Alwhat |
| Kirkcudbrightshire OS Name Book (1848-51) Vol. 4| Alwhat |
| Kirkcudbrightshire OS Name Book (1848-51) Vol. 5| Alwhat |
