{{about|the name|the band|Hamish (band)}} {{distinguish|Amish|Haimish|Heimish}} {{Infobox given name2 | name = Hamish | image = | image_size = | caption = | pronunciation = /ˈheɪ.mɪʃ/ | gender = Masculine | nameday = | language = English, Scots | languageorigin = | origin = Seumas (voc. ''Sheumais'') | derivation = | meaning = "Supplanter", "to supersede", "heel-grabber" <ref>{{cite web |url=https://charlies-names.com/en/hamish/ |title=Hamish – Everything about the name and its meaning |publisher=Charlie's Names |date=2024-10-12 |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref> | variant = | shortform = | petname = | cognate = | anglicisation = | derivative = | seealso = James, Jacob, Jake, Jack, Seumas, Jacques, Ya'qub | popularity = | footnotes = | wikt = }}
'''Hamish''' is a Scottish masculine given name, an Anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name {{lang|gd|Sheumais}}, itself the vocative of {{lang|gd|Seumas}} (the Gaelic equivalent of {{lang|en|James}}). The name traces its roots through English {{lang|en|James}} to Middle English {{lang|enm|Iames}}, Old French {{lang|fro|James}}, Vulgar Latin {{lang|la|Iacomus}}, Latin {{lang|la|Iacobus}}, Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|Ἰάκωβος}} (Iákōbos), and ultimately Hebrew {{lang|he|יַעֲקֹב}} (Yaʿăqōḇ), meaning "supplanter", "to supersede", or "heel-grabber." It is thus a doublet of {{lang|en|James}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/hamish |title=Hamish |publisher=Behind the Name |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref>
Outside Scotland, it has gained popularity in Australia<ref>{{cite web |url=https://honey.nine.com.au/parenting/most-popular-baby-names-australia-2023-report/bb47ade5-ed1b-42a4-902f-21272cb396f0 |title=Baby Name Ideas: Australia's most popular baby names for 2023 |publisher=9Honey |date=2023-06-12 |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref> and New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/10/nzs-most-popular-baby-names-for-2023-revealed/ |title=NZ's most popular baby names for 2023 revealed |publisher=1News |date=2024-01-10 |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref> where it ranks among the top 200 and 300 boys' names respectively, reflecting the influence of Scottish immigration. It is also occasionally found in Canada, South Africa,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://charlies-names.com/en/hamish/ |title=Hamish – Everything about the name and its meaning |publisher=Charlie's Names |date=2024-10-12 |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref> and other Commonwealth countries, though it remains less common in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/H/HA/HAMISH/index.html |title=HAMISH First Name Statistics |publisher=MyNameStats |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref>
==People== ===Given name=== * Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricketer * Hamish Bennett (director), New Zealand filmmaker * Hamish Blake (born 1981), Australian comedian and radio presenter * Hamish Bond (born 1986), New Zealand Olympic rower * Hamish Bowles (born 1963), European editor-at-large for ''Vogue'' * Hamish Brown, writer and mountain walker * Hamish Carter (born 1971), Olympic gold medallist triathlete from New Zealand * Hamish Clark (born 1965), Scottish actor * Hamish Falconer (born 1985), British politician and diplomat * Hamish Forbes, 7th Baronet (1916–2007), British Army major * Hamish Fraser, Scottish Catholic journalist and activist * Hamish Glencross (born 1978), heavy metal guitarist for the band My Dying Bride * Hamish Harding (1964–2023), British businessman * Hamish Harding (rower) (born 1999), Australian rower * Hamish Henderson (1919–2002), Scottish singer and collector of folk music * Hamish Imlach (1940-1996), Scottish folk singer * Hamish Kerr, New Zealand athlete * Hamish Kilgour, New Zealand musician in the band The Clean * Hamish Linklater, American actor * Hamish MacCunn (1868{{ndash}}1916), Scottish composer and musician * Hamish Marshall (born 1979), New Zealand cricketer * Hamish McAlpine (born 1948), Scottish footballer * Hamish MacDonald (disambiguation), several people * Hamish McKay, New Zealand television presenter * Hamish Meldrum (born 1948), British doctor * Hamish Milne, British pianist * Hamish Moore, Scottish maker, musician and teacher * Hamish Munro (1915–1994), Scottish biochemist * Hamish Peacock Australian athlete * Hamish Pepper New Zealand sailor * Hamish Purdy, Canadian movie set decorator * Hamish Rosser, drummer of Australian band the Vines * Hamish Rutherford (born 1989), New Zealand cricketer * Hamish Stuart (born 1949), lead singer of Average White Band * Hamish Wallace (born 1956), Scottish paediatric oncologist * Hamish Wilson, Scottish actor
===Nickname=== * Hamish Dawson (1925{{ndash}}2007), Scottish rugby union player * Hamish Kemp (1933{{ndash}}2002), Scottish rugby union player * Hamish Mahaddie (1911{{ndash}}1997), Scottish officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War * Hamish Stothard (1913{{ndash}}1997), Scottish middle-distance runner
==Animals== * Hamish McHamish, famous "cat about town" in St Andrews, Scotland
==Fictional characters== * Hamish Alexander, in the Honorverse novels by David Weber *John H. Watson, a character in ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories; his middle name is unknown in the original stories, but is given as Hamish in many non-canon Holmes pastiches and adaptations * Hamish and Dougal, comedy characters from Radio 4 series ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' * Hamish Macbeth, a detective in a series of novels and television adaptation starring Robert Carlyle as the eponymous hero * Hamish Sinclair, a Civil War veteran in the video game Red Dead Redemption II * Hot Shot Hamish and Mighty Mouse, two former popular British football-themed comic strips * Hamish, in the Nickelodeon TV show ''Mr. Meaty'' * Harry and Hamish two twin diesels who work at the docks hauling in ships. * Hamish the Hairy Haggis, the anthropomorphic title character and Wild Haggis in the children's book ''Hamish the Hairy Haggis'' by A. K. Paterson (Lomond Books, 2000).<ref>{{cite book |last=Paterson |first=A. K. |title=Hamish the Hairy Haggis |publisher=Lomond Books |year=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/hamishhairyhaggi0000pate |access-date=2025-10-26}}</ref>
==Named cyclones== *Cyclone Hamish, a 2009 cyclone *Tropical Cyclone Hamish, a 1999 cyclone
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:English-language masculine given names Category:Masculine given names Category:Scottish masculine given names Category:Nicknames