Editing Hebrides (section)

=== Uninhabited islands ===
[[File:Dubh artach.jpg|350px|right|thumb|''{{lang|gd|Dhu Heartach}} Lighthouse, During Construction'' by [[Sam Bough]] (1822–1878)]]
The names of uninhabited islands follow the same general patterns as the inhabited islands. (See the list, below, of the ten largest islands in the Hebrides and their outliers.)

The [[St Kilda, Scotland#Origin of names|etymology of the name "St Kilda"]], a small archipelago west of the Outer Hebrides, and the name of its main island, "[[Hirta]]," is very complex. No [[saint]] is known by the name of Kilda, so various other theories have been proposed for the word's origin, which dates from the late 16th century.<ref>Buchanan (1983) Pages 2–6.</ref> Haswell-Smith (2004) notes that the full name "St Kilda" first appears on a Dutch map dated 1666, and that it may derive from the Norse phrase ''{{lang|non|sunt kelda}}'' ("sweet wellwater") or from a mistaken Dutch assumption that the spring ''{{lang|gd|Tobar Childa}}'' was dedicated to a saint. (''{{lang|gd|Tobar Childa}}'' is a [[list of tautological place names|tautological placename]], consisting of the [[Scottish Gaelic language|Gaelic]] and [[Old Norse|Norse]] words for ''well'', i.e., "well well").<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 314–25.</ref> Similarly unclear is the origin of the Gaelic for "Hirta", ''{{lang|gd|Hiort}}'', ''{{lang|gd|Hirt}}'', or ''{{lang|gd|Irt}}''<ref>Newton, Michael Steven. The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic: All the Scottish Gaelic You Need to Curse, Swear, Drink, Smoke and Fool around. Sydney, Nova Scotia: Cape Breton UP, 2014.</ref> a name for the island that long pre-dates the name "St Kilda". Watson (1926) suggests that it may derive from the Old Irish word ''{{lang|sga|hirt}}'' ("death"), possibly a reference to the often lethally dangerous surrounding sea.<ref>Watson (1994) p. 97.</ref> Maclean (1977) notes that an [[Icelanders' sagas|Icelandic saga]] about an early 13th-century voyage to Ireland refers to "the islands of ''{{lang|non|Hirtir}}''", which means "stags" in Norse, and suggests that the outline of the island of Hirta resembles the shape of a [[stag]], speculating that therefore the name "Hirta" may be a reference to the island's shape.<ref>Maclean (1977) page 33.</ref>

The etymology of the names of small islands may be no less complex and elusive. In relation to {{lang|gd|[[Dubh Artach]]}}, [[Robert Louis Stevenson]] believed that "black and dismal" was one translation of the name, noting that "as usual, in Gaelic, it is not the only one."<ref>Stevenson (1872) p. 10.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Island
! Derivation
! Language
! Meaning
! Munro (1549)
! Alternatives
|-
| [[Ceann Ear]]
| ''{{lang|gd|Ceann Ear}}''
| Gaelic
| east headland
|
|-
| [[Hirta]]
| ''Hirt''
| Possibly Old Irish
| death
| Hirta
| Numerous – see above
|-
| [[Mingulay]]
| ''{{lang|non|Miklaey}}''{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=76}}
| Norse
| big island<ref>Buxton (1995) p. 33.</ref>{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=76}}
| Megaly
| "Main hill island".<ref name=M87>Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 87</ref> Murray (1973) states that the name "appropriately means Bird Island".<ref>Murray (1973) p. 41.</ref>
|-
| [[Pabbay, Harris|Pabbay]]
| {{lang|non|Papaey}}{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=76}}
| Norse
| priest island<ref name=M94>Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 94.</ref>
| Pabay
|  
|-
| [[Ronay]]
| 
| Norse
| rough island<ref name=M101>Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 101.</ref>
| 
|-
| [[Sandray]]
| ''{{lang|non|Sandray}}''<ref>Buxton (1995) p. 158.</ref>
| Norse
| sand island<ref name=M103 />
| Sanderay
| beach island{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=77}}
|-
| [[Scarba]]
|
| Norse
| cormorant island<ref name=M104 />
| Skarbay
|{{lang|non|Skarpey}}, sharp or infertile island{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=78}}
|-
| [[Scarp, Scotland|Scarp]]
| ''{{lang|non|Skarpoe}}''<ref>Haswell-Smith (2004) p 285.</ref>
| Norse
| "barren"<ref name=M104/> or "stony"
| Scarpe
|
|-
| [[Taransay]]
| 
| Norse
| Taran's island<ref>Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 111.</ref>
| Tarandsay
|{{lang|non|Haraldsey}}, Harold's island{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=72}}
|-
| [[Wiay, Uist|Wiay]]
| {{lang|non|Búey}}{{sfn|Gammeltoft|2006|p=69}}
| Norse
| From {{lang|non|bú}}, a settlement
|
| Possibly "house island"<ref>Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 118.</ref>
|}