A recent investigation proved how important it is to have good knowledge of the Scottish colloquial language. Most areas of Scotland have their own colloquial language which in turn can lead to how surnames were recorded (phonetics). As an example the surname we were researching was Gardener. It looked as if the trail had come to a dead end. However we made the break through by searching with our indepth knowledge of the Scottish colloquial language. We found our required birth record under "GAIRDENER".
To explain further a garden in Scotland was often referred to as the gairden. I must admit that I still often use the term gairden rather than garden.
Please feel free to contact Scottish Genealogy Research if you have problems with the spellings of Scottish surnames
www.scottishgenealogyresearch.com
