The etymology of Aberdeen is that of the name first used for the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, which then bestowed its name to other Aberdeens around the world, as Aberdonians left Scotland to settle in the New World and other colonies.
Aberdeen is pronounced in Received Pronunciation, and pronounced as /sco/ (with a short a sound) in Scottish Standard English. The local Doric pronunciation, pronounced as /sco/ or pronounced as /sco/ (with a long ay sound), is frequently rendered Scots: Aiberdein.
The area in modern times known as Old Aberdeen is the approximate location of the first and original Scottish settlement of Aberdeen. Originally the name was Undetermined: Aberdon which literally means "at the mouth of the Don", as it is situated by the mouth of the river Don.
See also: Aber and Inver as place-name elements.
In reference to Aberdeen, Scots: Aber- is pronounced locally as pronounced as /sco/.
The prefix Scots: [[Aber (placename element)|Aber-]] means the "confluence of waters", "river mouth" or "the French: embouchure of a river where it falls into a larger river or the sea. It can also be used as a metaphor for a harbour."[1]
Scots: Aber- is used as a prefix in many placenames in Scotland and more often Wales.
Celtic languages: Aber- is a common Brythonic element, meaning a "confluence". It is presumably that the Pictish language was at least partly P-Celtic as evidenced by various names. Other examples of this prefix in Scotland are Aberfeldy, Aberdour, and Aberbrothick (an old form of Arbroath). In Wales, there are frequent examples such as Aberystwyth and Welsh: Abertawe (the Welsh for Swansea) are examples. Other Brythonic examples include Falmouth (which is known as Cornish: Aberfal in Cornish), and Breton: [[Aber Wrac'h]] in Brittany.
Aber- can be found all over Scotland, predominantly on the east coast.
As well as the east coast of Scotland, places with the prefix Aber- or a variant are found all over Wales, on the west coast of England and in Brittany. They are not found on the east coast of England or in Ireland.
The second element is more contentious. It probably refers to Latin: Devona, which is a name of one or both of the Rivers Don and Dee, which may also have Brythonic etymologies (note also the River Dee, Wales).
Although the north east variety of Scottish Gaelic has died out, it was present in the region (cf. Book of Deer) for centuries, as is attested to by Goidelic placenames in the region such as Inverurie, Banchory, Kincorth and Balgownie and was spoken as recently as 1984 (Braemar).[2]
The Scottish Gaelic name for Aberdeen is Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain (pronounced as /gd/).
See also: List of Latin place names in Britain.
In 146 AD, Ptolemy wrote that in Celtic times a city named (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Δηούανα),[3] commonly latinized as Latin: Devana, was the capital of the ancient tribal area Taexali (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ταιξάλοι,). However, although Devana is usually attributed to Aberdeen there is a possibility the capital could have been Barmekyne Hill in Banffshire. The general surmise is that the name Latin: Devana refers to a river name. However, there is no consensus which river could be meant, as there are several river names resonating with the Graeco-Roman Latin: Devana:
The Romans and subsequently European scholars (using Latin as the lingua franca of scholarship, as did the Catholic Church), referred to Aberdeen with various Latin names well into the modern era:
Aberdeen also has a number of nicknames, and poetic names:
William Kennedy proposes the spelling variations:[12]
The Orkneyinga saga records an Old Norse variant of the name, Norse, Old: Apardion,[13] clearly cognate with the modern form.
There have been more eccentric etymologies, e.g. Boxhorn considered it Phoenician in origin.[1] This is unlikely, however, as no Phoenician sites have been found this far north.
Residents or natives of Aberdeen are known as Aberdonians, whence Aberdeen F.C.'s nickname, "the Dons".