#1Famous people · Elgin, Moray
58 famous people were born in Elgin, more of them soldiers and sailors than in most towns
Articles in 34 languages make the Scottish actor Kevin McKidd the best known. 19 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. No other town in Moray lists as many. Per 10,000 residents, the town has 23.6, close to the 23.6 of the typical Moray town.
Born here
58
notable people
Best known
Kevin McKidd
in 34 Wikipedia languages
First
1705
William Gordon
Youngest
2005
Liam Harvey
Most common field
Sports
23 people
What stands out about Elgin’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Elgin is known for
Set against the usual town, soldiers and sailors come out 2.8 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Elgin
Ranked by languages covered: Kevin McKidd with 34, then Steven Pressley with 16 and F. F. Bruce with 15.
#1
#2Sports
Steven Pressley
born 1973Scottish association football manager (born 1973)
16 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
FB#3
Science & Medicine
F. F. Bruce
1910–1990British biblical scholar (1910-1990)
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Elgin’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1980s, with 5 people born in that decade.
SportsScience & MedicineMilitaryWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageFaithMusicNotableBusiness
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Elgin
The other 55 span the years 1705 to 2005.
George Brown
1790–1865British soldier notable for commands in the Peninsular War and the Crimean War
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
George Macdonald
1862–1940British archaeologist and numismatist (1862–1940)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Harry Robertson
1932–1996Musician, bandleader, music director and composer (1932–1996)
MusicWikipedia ↗
Ethel Gordon Fenwick
1857–1947British nurse and founder of the International Council of Nurses
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
George Ashdown Audsley
1838–1925British-American architect, decorator, organ builder (1838-1925)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Mary Murdoch
1864–1916Murdoch, Mary Charlotte (1864–1916), physician and suffragist
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Robert David MacDonald
1929–2004Scottish playwright, translator and theatre director (1929–2004)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
James Jenkins Simpson
1881–1936British entomologist and marine biologist
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
John Shand
1834–1914University professor, educationalist, administrator (1834-1914)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
John Warren
1830–1914Pastoralist and politician in South Australia (1830-1914)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Lesley Souter
1917–1981Engineer, first female electrical engineering student at the University of Glasgow (1917-1981)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
William Rennie
1821–1886Scottish military officer (1821–1896); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The longest list nearby is Forres’, with 23.
Questions about famous people from Elgin
Who is the most famous person from Elgin?
Kevin McKidd (Scottish actor) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 34 languages. Next come Steven Pressley and F. F. Bruce.
How many famous people were born in Elgin?
58 people born in Elgin have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 65 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Elgin known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 23 of the 58. That is 40% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Elgin?
William Gordon, born in 1705. The youngest on the list was born in 2005.
Who counts as from Elgin?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Elgin’s locality (the NRS 2022 locality boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by National Records of Scotland’s Census 2022 locality boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (21)
- Kevin McKidd: gdcgraphics, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steven Pressley: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Helen Jenkins: MartinPutz, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Brown: Roger Fenton, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Calder: Lemuel Francis Abbott, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ethel Gordon Fenwick: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles McFarlane Inglis: Unknown Photographer. Most certainly taken before 1960. Photo of this photo taken by User:PJeganathan, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Ashdown Audsley: Constable and Company, Ltd., London, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Murdoch: Photographer not named., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alan Main: Lewiewilling, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Morison: New Zealand Graphic, 13 November 1913, page 28 - photographer unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Hossack: 19th century photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Wardlaw-Milne: Bain, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- J. Stuart Russell: John Cochran, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jenni Minto: Scottish Parliament, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Warren: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Gordon: Joseph Highmore, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Rennie: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander Brodie Spark: Forbes Mudie, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Shirley Henderson: nicolas genin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ramsay MacDonald: Walter Stoneman, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.