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Airlie

Girl name · 17 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Airlie: 17 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 5 births in 2023.

Airlie is a charming Scottish place name, taken directly from the Angus estate of Airlie, which itself derives from the Gaelic *earra-liath*, meaning ‘grey slope’. Historically, the name is bound to the Airlie family, whose seat, Airlie Castle, was infamously burned by the Earl of Montrose’s forces in 1640—a tragedy still remembered in the folk song “The Bonnie House of Airlie.” While not attached to a single famous individual bearer, the name’s noble lineage gives it an air of quiet heritage. As a modern given name, Airlie has been used for both girls and boys, though it leans distinctly feminine in Scotland, and it shares its root with the more common name Arly.