Beith

Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "Hill o' Beith" (hill of the birches) after its Court Hill. History Name Beith's name is thought to emanate from Ogham, which is sometimes referred to as the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", ascribing names of trees to individual letters. Beithe in Old Irish means Birch-tree (cognate to Latin betula). There is reason to believe that the whole of the district was covered with woods. The town of Beith itself was once known as 'Hill of Beith' as this was the name of the feudal barony and was itself derived from the Court Hill near Hill of Beith Castle. Alternatively, Beith may be derived from Cumbric *baɣeδ, 'boar' (Welsh baedd). The local pronunciation of the name would favour this theory.