Some names from that time have no modern equivalent, like Gabran, Nechtan and Bridei, or the Anglo-Saxon  Aethelfrith. others remain unchanged, like Donald, Fergus, Oswald and Kenneth. The Irish term maqq or meqq was adopted by the picts over time and changed into Mac and Mc as it is still used in both Scotland and Ireland today. The words maqq and meqq mean  Son of . This is how surnames developed in a lot of ancient societies MacDonald - Son of Donald , or also, Donaldson - Son of Donald. In Arabic the word Ibn means Son Of, while in modern Russia the suffix -vich, added to the middle name, means Son of, for example Ilya Sergeyvich Popov would show that person to have a father called Sergey. Think of six more surnames that show 'son of' in them. Don't just use Mac or Mc names.

The study of the origin and meaning of names is called Etymology. In the UK there are many influences on place names: Roman, Viking, Ancient British, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Scots, Pictish, Welsh (Brythonic), Gaelic and Irish. Some place names are even a combination of two or more of these sources.

You will need an Atlas of Scotland or the UK, or an Ordnance Survey map of parts of Scotland.

Below is a list of words, along with meanings, from old Pictish and Scots that can be found in place names. use your map to try and find the names of towns and villages that have these words in their names.
In this way you can partially work out the origin of the name and part of what  the name means. Sometimes the same prefix means different things in different tongues.

Dun and Dum - Scots Gaelic; 'Fort'

Rath - Scots Gaelic; 'Hill Fort'

Dal - Scots Gaelic Dail; 'Field' or 'Meadow'

Inch - Scots Gaelic Innis; 'Island'

Port - Scots Gaelic; 'Harbour'

Pit and Pitt - pictish 'Parcel of land' usually good for farming

Kil - Scots Gaelic Cille; 'Church'

Car - Brythonic Caer; 'Fort'

Clach / ck - Scots Gaelic; 'Stones'

Find ten place names on the map that have some of the prefixes in the table above.