Question Home

Position:Home>Genealogy> Where did the name SCOTLAND YARD originate from?


Question:The name derives from the headquarters's original location on Great Scotland Yard, a street off Whitehall. The exact origins of this name are unknown, though popular explanations include: that it had once been the site of a diplomatic mission owned by the Kings of Scotland prior to the Union of England and Scotland; that the street was owned by a man called Scott during the Middle Ages; or that stagecoaches bound to Scotland once departed from the street.[2] By the 17th century, the street had become the site of a number of government buildings, with the architects Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren living there. From 1649–1651, the poet John Milton lived there during the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell's rule.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The name derives from the headquarters's original location on Great Scotland Yard, a street off Whitehall. The exact origins of this name are unknown, though popular explanations include: that it had once been the site of a diplomatic mission owned by the Kings of Scotland prior to the Union of England and Scotland; that the street was owned by a man called Scott during the Middle Ages; or that stagecoaches bound to Scotland once departed from the street.[2] By the 17th century, the street had become the site of a number of government buildings, with the architects Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren living there. From 1649–1651, the poet John Milton lived there during the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell's rule.

From the yard it was built in, in Scotland.

Check out Wikipedia for the explanation. There seems to be more than one origin.