Lednock (river) | Toponymy | Forum

The name of the River Lednock (which empties into the Earn at Comrie) has defied explanation in modern times. Neither Watson (“Celtic Placenames of Scotland”) nor Robertson (“Gaelic Place-Names”) nor Johnston (“Place-Names of Scotland”) even deign to mention it at all.

We may start by parsing it: Led - (n) - ock.

The “ock” is easy - it is merely a variant of Pictish “ig” (surviving as “igh” in Dwelly) which normally shortens to “-ie” and is sometimes seen as “-ick” - meaning “burn”. (see chapter on Pictish Placenames in Volume 2 of "Scottish Clans: Legend, Logic & Evidence" (Fastprint 2012).

So for the first part it is to Welsh that we should look in the first place for an answer. Fortunately Y Geiriadur Mawr offers us “Llednant” (itself a compound of “lled” and “nant” meaning a (smaller) tributary stream/river.

So the Lednock is “The Tributary Burn” - which in fact it is.

While that is “problem solved” it really begs other questions - for in the reasonably immediate vicinity other tributaries join the Earn: the Milton Burn runs parallel to the Lednock just 700 yards downstream on the Earn. On the south bank the Water of Ruchill is more or less immediately opposite the Lednock and not too far away upstream on the south bank is the Aberruchil Burn. So why make this the generic one? I do have a theory but I will leave it hanging here.....