#1Politics & Law
Mary, Queen of Scots
1542–1587Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 (1542–1587)
108 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Linlithgow, West Lothian
28 famous people were born in Linlithgow, more of them leaders than in most towns
Mary, Queen of Scots is the best known, with articles in 108 languages. Second and third on the list are James V of Scotland and Alex Salmond. In the 20th century, 9 were born, the most of any period. The first birth on record is James V of Scotland’s, in 1512, and the last Scott Banks’, in 2001.
Born here
28
notable people
Best known
Mary, Queen of Scots
in 108 Wikipedia languages
First
1512
James V of Scotland
Youngest
2001
Scott Banks
Most common field
Sports
13 people
What stands out about Linlithgow’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Linlithgow
By how many languages cover them, Mary, Queen of Scots comes first (108), then James V of Scotland (68) and Alex Salmond (65).
#1
#2Politics & Law
James V of Scotland
1512–1542King of Scotland from 1513 to 1542
68 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
AS#3
Politics & Law
Alex Salmond
1954–2024Alba Party leader and First Minister of Scotland 2007–2014 (1954–2024)
65 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Linlithgow is known for
Leaders stand out most, at 3.3 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Linlithgow’s famous people were born
The 1830s saw the most births of any decade: 3.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMilitaryNotableScience & Medicine
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Linlithgow
The rest number 25, with 13 athletes among them.
Louis Hope
1817–1894Member of the Queensland Legislative Council (1817–1894)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby, Livingston has the most on record, with 44.
Livingston · 6 miScott Arfield & 43 more
Broxburn · 5 miPaul di Resta & 34 more
Bathgate · 5 miDavid Tennant & 33 more
Bo'ness · 2 miGrace Cadell & 31 more
Grangemouth · 5 miThomas Mitchell & 23 moreAHArmadale · 7 miAlex Hamilton & 16 more
Polmont · 4 miJames Burns & 9 moreWDWinchburgh · 5 miWillie Duff & 4 moreQuestions about famous people from Linlithgow
Who is the most famous person from Linlithgow?
Mary, Queen of Scots (queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567 (1542–1587)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 108 languages. Next come James V of Scotland and Alex Salmond.
How many famous people were born in Linlithgow?
28 people born in Linlithgow have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 34 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Linlithgow known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 13 of the 28. That is 46% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Linlithgow?
James V of Scotland, born in 1512. The youngest on the list was born in 2001.
Who counts as from Linlithgow?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Linlithgow’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 (18)
- Mary, Queen of Scots: Unidentified painter, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James V of Scotland: Corneille de Lyon, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Wyville Thomson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Colin Stein: Jack de Nijs for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Banks: Bradford City AFC, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cameron Mason: MFonzatti, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Glen: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander Fraser: Alexander Fraser RSA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis Hope: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Duncan McFarlane: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John West: Scaned by Bryan C. Aalberg, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William McIntyre (novelist): Skyring, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Arfield: Steindy 23:15, 6 September 2009 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul di Resta: Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Wikimedia Commons
- David Tennant: Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Grace Cadell: John Campbell Harper (died 1947), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Mitchell: unsigned, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Burns: 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.