This surname of ARBUTHNOT is of territorial origin from the old barony, now the parish of the same name in Kincardineshire. The first of the name on record appears to have been Hugh de ALBEBOTHENOTH, who flourished in the reign of William the Lion. He obtained his lands from Walter Olifard, who died before 1206. Alwinus ABERBITENNAUTH witnessed two deeds in 1241, and Hugh de ABIRBUTHENOTH granted the church of Garruouch to the monastery of Arbroath in 1282. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. A notable member of the name was John ARBUTHNOT (1667-1735) the Scottish physician and writer, son of the Episcopalian manse at ARBUTHNOTT in Kincardineshire. A close friend of Jonathan Swift, and all the literary celebrities of the day, he was also a distinguished doctor and writer of medical works, and a physician in ordinary to Queen Anne (1705). He studied at Aberdeen and Oxford, and took his MD degree at St. Andrews. In London he was much admired for his wit and erudition. In the early part of the 18th century the ARBUTHNETS are described as 'the most thriving name' in Peterhead. The museum in Peterhead was formed by Adam ARBUTHNOT, a merchant, and bequeathed to the town in 1851. It was not until the 10th century that modern hereditary surnames first developed, and the use of fixed names spread, first to France, and then England, then to Germany and all of Europe. In these parts of Europe, the individual man was becoming more important, commerce was increasing and the exact identification of each man was becoming a necessity. Even today however, the Church does not recognise surnames. Baptisms and marriages are performed through use of the Christian name alone. Thus hereditary names as we know them today developed gradually during the 11th to the 15th century in the various European countries.