| BC | Bamff Charters A.D. 1232-1703, edited by Sir James H. Ramsay, Oxford University Press 1915. |
| CBS1 | The Court Book of Shetland 1602-1604, edited by Gordon Donaldson, Edinburgh 1954. |
| CBS2 | Court Book of Shetland 1615-1629, edited by Gordon Donaldson, Lerwick 1991. |
| CSO | The Court Book of Orkney and Shetland 1612-1613, edited by Robert S. Barclay, Kirkwall 1962. |
| CWY | Calendar of Writs Preserved at Yester House 1166-1503, edited by Charles C. Harvey, Edinburgh 1916. |
| IRC | An Index, drawn up about the year 1629, of many Records of Charters, Granted by the Different Sovereigns of Scotland Between the years 1309 and 1413, most of which Records have been long missing, by William Robertson. Edinburgh 1798. |
| MME | Memorials of the Montgomeries Earls of Eglinton, by William Fraser. Edinburgh 1859. |
| RMS | Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum (The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland), Edinburgh 1882-1912. |
| RN | Regesta Norvegica, Oslo 1978-1997. |
| RSH | Inqvisitionvm ad capellam domini regis retornatarvm, qvae in pvblicis archivis Scotiae (Retours of Services of Heirs), 1811-1816. |
| SCA | Records of the Sheriff Court of Aberdeenshire, edited by David Littlejohn, Aberdeen 1904. |
| SD1 | Shetland Documents 1195-1579, edited by John H. Ballantyne and Brian Smith, Lerwick 1999. |
| SD2 | Shetland Documents 1580-1611, edited by John H. Ballantyne and Brian Smith, Lerwick 1994. |
| SRS | Scottish Record Society. |
| ACO | A Collection of Armorials of the County of Orkney, by H. L. Norton Smith, Printed for the author 1902. |
| AFC | The Ancient Family of Cleland, by John Burton Cleland, London 1905. |
| BAM | The Baronage of Angus and Mearns, by David MacGregor Peter, Edinburgh 1861. |
| CAW | History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton, by James Paterson, Edinburgh 1866. |
| CFH | Cathness Family History, by John Henderson, Edinburgh 1884. |
| CFZ | County Families of Shetland Island, by Francis J. Grant. |
| HTC | History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, by John Burke, 1838 (vol IV). |
| LL | A Lairdship Lost - The Mowats of Balquholly 1309-1736, by Diane Baptie, Tuckwell Press 2000. |
| OSA | An Ordinary of Scottish Arms, by J. Balfour Paul, Edinburgh 1893. |
| SAS | Scottish Armorial Seals, by William Rae MacDonald, Edinburgh 1904. |
| SH | A System of Heraldry, by Alexander Nisbet, London 1816. |
| SHS | Sunnhordland-slekter, by Erik Bakkevig, first published in 1941. (Norwegian) |
| ZFH | Zetland Family Histories, by Francis J. Grant. This is a newer edition of CFZ. |