Township: Hough

Map Reference: Hough 37

Name Type: machair

Meaning: An extensive area involving a Cnoc (where a Coastguard look-out hut was later built), Loch and Rubha

This is plausibly a Gaelic coinage from ScG carragh ‘stone monument’ and ScG staoin ‘awry, crooked’. The modern stress pattern, with stress on the second element staoin, supports this. ScG carragh is quite a common element on Tiree occurring five times, for example the natural feature An Carragh Biorach 'the sharp-pointed stone' in Cornaigmore. However, there is no obvious standing stone, leaning or otherwise, at this machair site today.
There is a Carasdan on Barra (Stahl 1999, 163).

Other Forms:

Related Places:

Information:" S gun dail fo Charragh Phuirt-Staoin" - Cameron, Rev. Hector (ed.), Na Bàird Thirisdeach, The Tiree Association, 1932, p432.

ONB p. 24 gives Carrastaoin " a small district situated on the north side of Hough and extending to the sea. It is bounded on the east side by Balevullin."

Local Form:

Languages : Gaelic, Obscure

Informants: OS