55.9533° N, 3.1894° W

EDINBURGH

Most Famous People Born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Notable people
2,337
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1919
Most distinctive
Botanist 3.0×

Half university town, half capital. Edinburgh's notables are unusually dense in the 1700s and 1800s — botanists, chemists, physicians, judges, and engineers — a footprint that maps almost perfectly onto the Scottish Enlightenment and the Victorian scientific establishment. The modern half adds cricketers and rugby players (grouped in the data as 'player'), but the city's intellectual tilt is still its defining feature.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Edinburgh during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 175 notable births.

What Edinburgh Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Edinburgh's biggest profession — 22% of all notables (509).

Edinburgh over-indexes on botanist3.0× the global rate.

Edinburgh under-produces politician — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Football509
  2. Politician182
  3. Painter103
  4. Player96
  5. Actor88
  6. Cricket57
  7. Writer55
  8. Physician42
  1. Botanist283.0×
  2. Chemist232.8×
  3. Judge302.7×
  4. Physician422.6×
  5. Engineer312.1×
  6. Player962.1×
  7. Football5092.0×
  8. Cricket571.9×
  1. Politician1820.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Edinburgh's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All2,337
Sort By

Showing 28 of 2,337 notable people

0056 PAINTER

Henry Raeburn

1756 - 1823

Preview
0071 POLITICIAN

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto

1751 - 1814

Preview
0086 COURTESAN

Grace Elliott

1754 - 1823

Preview
0087 MATHEMATICIAN

Dugald Stewart

1753 - 1828

Preview
0115 POET

Robert Fergusson

1750 - 1774

Preview
0154 LAWYER

Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine

1750 - 1823

Preview
0172 PAINTER

Alexander Nasmyth

1758 - 1840

Preview
0212 LEXICOGRAPHER

John Gilchrist (linguist)

1759 - 1841

Preview
0286 ANTHROPOLOGIST

John Pinkerton

1758 - 1826

Preview
0319 PEER

Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton

1756 - 1799

Preview
0323 EPISCOPAL

Archibald Alison (author)

1757 - 1839

Preview
0324 PEER

Elizabeth Smith-Stanley, Countess of Derby

1753 - 1797

Preview
0373 NAVY

William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk

1758 - 1831

Preview
0392 ARCHITECT

Adam Menelaws

1753 - 1831

Preview
0413 COMPOSER

Alexander Reinagle

1756 - 1809

Preview
0435 PEER

James Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton

1755 - 1769

Preview
0453 DIPLOMAT

Hugh Elliot

1752 - 1830

Preview
0524 GARDENER

Thomas Blaikie (gardener)

1751 - 1838

Preview
0652 BOOKSELLER

Thomas Dobson (printer)

1751 - 1823

Preview
0825 SPY

George Don (British Army officer)

1756 - 1832

Preview
0885 MERCENARY

John the Painter

1752 - 1777

Preview
1142 PRINTER

James Donaldson (publisher)

1751 - 1830

Preview
1257 PAINTER

John Graham (painter)

1754 - 1817

Preview
1269 PAINTER

Charles Shirreff (painter)

1750 - 1831

Preview
1282 ENGRAVER

John Beugo

1759 - 1841

Preview
1428 DIARIST

Agnes Porter

1752 - 1814

Preview
1506 PRIEST

Ranald MacDonald (bishop)

1756 - 1832

Preview
2337 ENGRAVER

Daniel Lizars Sr.

1754 - 1812

Preview