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Famous Scottish People

Name these famous Scots, past and present.
Includes people who emigrated from Scotland
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: May 9, 2015
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First submittedSeptember 7, 2012
Times taken16,365
Average score65.0%
Rating4.20
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Clue
Scot
Scottish hero portrayed in "Braveheart"
William Wallace
UK Prime Minister, 1997-2007
Tony Blair
Greatly improved the steam engine
James Watt
Portrayed the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ewan McGregor
British King who commissioned a Bible
James VI
Well-known philosopher of the
Scottish Enlightenment
David Hume
16th century Queen of Scots
Mary
11th century King,
subject of a Shakespeare play
MacBeth
Bond, James Bond
Sean Connery
"Hell's Kitchen" chef
Gordon Ramsay
Clue
Scot
"Auld Lang Syne" poet
Robert Burns
"The Wealth of Nations"
Adam Smith
Created Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle
Unphotogenic singer from
"Britain's Got Talent"
Susan Boyle
Discovered penicillin
Alexander Fleming
Telephone inventor
Alexander Graham Bell
"Treasure Island" author
Robert Louis Stevenson
Pittsburgh steel baron
and philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie
2013 Wimbledon winner
Andy Murray
The 10th Doctor
David Tennant
+2
Level 90
Nov 27, 2012
Not that it affects the quiz entry in any way ("James" is sufficient to fill it in), but the *British* monarch responsible for the bible is known as James I, not James VI. He was James VI as King of Scotland, before succeeding to monarch of the joined British kingdom of Scotland and England in 1603.
+1
Level 67
Jan 19, 2013
Actually the two kingdoms were not joined until 1707--but did share a monarch (when they weren't chopping off his head) from 1603 forward. Still I agree with tschutzer that it is more accurate to number him as James I if we are referring to him as the British monarch.
+1
Level 76
Apr 17, 2017
The Union of the Crowns was 1603, but the Union of the Parliaments was 1707.
+1
Level 46
Nov 30, 2015
Often called James I & VI
+1
Level 35
Nov 1, 2019
no he is known as James VI, he was from the House of Stuart which was a Scottish family and there 5 previous "King James" before him. He was already James VI for the first few decades of his reign as monarch solely of Scotland. Then he became king of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
+1
Level 47
Nov 27, 2012
Where's Andy Murray on this list???
+1
Level ∞
May 9, 2015
Since he won Wimbledon, I guess we can add him now.
+2
Level 35
Dec 11, 2012
there are loads of Scots missed out, you need a huge quiz to get them all in, so I have a sticker in the rear window of my car, it goes "I am a Scot. We invented the world, therefore I can say what I like..."
+1
Level 74
Jan 21, 2013
Only 36% guessed Alexander Fleming????
+1
Level 67
May 4, 2014
That, to me, was much more shocking than the Ferguson guy.
+2
Level 75
Jun 7, 2015
Jimmy Somerville, lead singer of Bronski Beat and the Communards?
+1
Level 76
Nov 30, 2015
Sad that more people know "Britain's Got Talent" than Hume.
+1
Level 59
Mar 23, 2017
Well it is a bit more recent that when Hume was about.
+2
Level 84
Apr 12, 2018
More people should know that David Hume could out-consume Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
+1
Level 65
Nov 30, 2015
I laughed hard at the tagline.
+10
Level 70
Nov 30, 2015
No need to be so rude in your description of Susan Boyle.
+4
Level 75
Nov 14, 2018
My thoughts as well. Insults are forbidden in comments, but okay in the quiz itself, I guess.
+1
Level 78
Jan 27, 2023
Yes, agreed. No need for it.
+1
Level 47
Dec 1, 2015
I think this quiz should be entitled "Scottish-born People".

There is a big difference between being Scottish-born and being Scottish.

Tony Blair is certainly not a Scot, nor Gordon Ramsay.

Also, James VI is correct, in the same way we talk about Elizabeth II currently, despite there never having been an Elizabeth I of Scotland, only England. The higher number always prevails.

+5
Level 70
Feb 2, 2018
Tony Blair was born in Edinburgh to a Glaswegian father and was educated at Fettes, also in Edinburgh, so if he isn't Scots, what is he?
+2
Level 75
Oct 4, 2021
Simple AVB: Tony Blair is British.

Blair's father was English - born in Yorkshire - but that is a grey area and doesn't really matter. In the UK singling out one specific national identity is odd unless it is particularly fitting.

I raise the example of Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister after Blair: he was born in Scotland to Scottish parents, schooled in Scotland, went to university in Scotland, represented a Scottish constituency in parliament, still spends most of his time in Scotland, regularly speaks out on Scottish issues, and does it all with a Scottish accent!

In a melting pot like the UK, that is the kind of person you could refer to as "Scottish" without raising eyebrows for being overly selective.

+2
Level 66
Dec 1, 2015
I am shocked that after all these comments I am the first to suggest Groundskeeper Willie!
+1
Level 56
Dec 1, 2015
The Bond thing stopped me in my tracks. I got really confused coz y'know, Bond himself IS Scottish...
+1
Level 74
Dec 1, 2015
Got the first 19 relatively easily ... then thanks to Monty Python for the 20th - going through all the non-French/German sounding philosophers before hitting on David Hume, could out-consume...
+4
Level 25
Dec 18, 2016
Leave Susan alone.
+1
Level 59
Mar 23, 2017
Why do people make comments along the lines of "I was expecting so-and-so"? There's only a few answers here, you can't include everyone remotely famous to do with Scotland. Anyway, why isn't Nessie on this quiz...?
+1
Level 82
Dec 1, 2017
famous people. Otherwise we can continue with Lassie ...
+1
Level 80
Sep 5, 2018
Amy Macdonald certainly added a nice Scottish accent to the playlists of mainstream FM radio.
+1
Level 83
Jan 15, 2019
Does being born in Scotland make you Scottish? For Arthur Conan Doyle, Wiki says: "Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was born in England, of Irish Catholic descent, and his mother, Mary (née Foley), was Irish Catholic."
+1
Level 23
Feb 26, 2019
sir alex ferguson???
+2
Level 46
May 25, 2020
Can Rabbie Burns or Robbie Burns please be accepted? These are very commonly used. :)
+2
Level 78
Feb 2, 2021
7th, 10th, and 12th Doctors - all Scottish.
+2
Level 85
Jul 12, 2022
I appreciate, as always, that you can't include EVERY SINGLE interesting Scot that the quiz takers like. But, if you DO decide to update this quiz at some point, it would be lovely to see Ken Buchanan represented: the only Scots boxer ever to become World Champion. (He was famous for his tartan robe and trunks as well as his talent in the ring.)
+2
Level 78
Oct 13, 2023
Heyyy Peter Capaldi and Sylvester McCoy were also Scottish Doctors!! And Ncuti Gatwa the 15th Doctor is Rwandan-Scottish. :)

Great quiz but don't forget about the numerous amazing Scottish women that didn't appear here, such as Mary Somerville.