Catherine McKinley
Before it became Scotland, that geographic area was known as Pictland. In the above map, Pictland is blue, Scotia is orange. The Picts were descended from Celtic Tribes. They were given the name “Picts,” which means “painted ones” by the Romans. Later, Viking attacks on the territory were repelled by King Kenneth McAlpin (841 AD), King of the Scots. King Kenneth then took his army
into neighboring Pictland.
By the time of his arrival, the inhabitants were weary of fighting with the Vikings. Since King Kenneth was known as a fierce warrior, and his mother, was Pictish, they welcomed King Kenneth with enthusiasm. They were hopeful their new King’s reputation would discourage Viking attacks, which it did.
As King, in 843 AD, Kenneth united the lands of Scotia and Pictland into one nation, called Scotland, which in Gaelic is “Alba.” King Kenneth ruled Alba for 16 years. During this time, he defended the new country from the Angles of Bernicia and the Britons of Straclyde while being diligent of possible invasions by the Vikings.
King Kenneth McAlpin died in 859 AD. King Malcolm II, a descendant of King Kenneth took the throne. He chose to expand his kingdom to include various nearby areas. By this time, the old Roman nickname of “Picts” had largely, disappeared. So, from that point forward, only “Scots” remained and, as time went on, regular use of the name “Alba” gave way to “Scotland.”