Township: Hough

Map Reference: Hough 4

Name Type: shore

Meaning: On the face of it, this could be a purely Gaelic construction with ScG cròg m. 'large, clumsy hand; palm' (Dwelly), possibly in a topographic sense. It is an unusual name, with only Maola na Croige in Mull and Allt Raon a Chroig in Lochbroom for company in Scotland (SP).
However, in view of the three Tiree place-names Cròg, Crògan and Crògan (see below) this is more likely to have been a simplex name in ON krókr (dative króki) 'hook, anything crooked ... a nook' (CV, 356-7; see Crookness, Sandnes 2010a, 182; Crook, Sandnes 2010a, 107; Mowat 1931, 4).
There is a Croig on the north coast of Mull (SP); a Staca na Cròige in Carloway, which Cox derives from cròg < ON krókr (Cox 2002, 374); a Croag Lee in Sandsting, and a Crog Holm in Delting, Shetland (SP); Krok occurs eight times in Norway (NG); Krókur occurs four times as a settlement name in the Faroe Islands (KO), and fourteen times as a farm name in Iceland (SAM).

Other Forms:

Related Places: A' Chròig in Mull. See Alasdair Whyte 'Round and About' July 2022 page 32. Probably derived from Gaelic cròg 'hand, paw, claw' referring to the topography. In the dative case.

Information:

Local Form:

Languages : Gaelic

Informants: Alasdair MacDonald, Druimasadh, Balevullin, 3/1994