Historic county of Scotland
Morayshire
Moireibh / Elginshire / County of Elgin
Firth-side plain north, Highland valleys and hills inland.
Morayshire / Elginshire begins with one of northern Scotland’s gentlest landscapes. Along the Moray Firth lies low, fertile coastal country, where farms, woodland and river valleys give the county a markedly softer character than much of the Highlands around it.
But Morayshire is not simply a coastal plain. Its geography also reaches into substantial inland Highland country through separated portions, where forest, hill and major river valleys replace the open firth-side landscape. This contrast between fertile coast and Highland interior is made still more distinctive by the county’s separated form.
- Once the Kingdom of Moray
- Sheriffdom by 12th century
- Elgin became county town
- Ancient docs: Elgin & Forres
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
Scotland Census 2022. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 141.3 people per sq mi (54.55 people per km²)
The Laigh of Moray
The low coastal country is traditionally known as the Laigh of Moray.
Its relatively mild conditions and productive farmland distinguish it sharply from the higher landscapes further inland.
Into the Highlands
The inland geography becomes progressively more wooded, upland and river-dominated.
Morayshire therefore contains two strongly contrasting landscape worlds: firth-facing lowland and inland Highland country.
Separated territory
Morayshire has a main coastal body together with substantial detached inland portions locally situate in Inverness-shire.
Those territories retain their association with Morayshire while also having a local relationship with the surrounding host county. Separation is part of the inherited county geography, not a mapping error.
County questions
Questions about Morayshire
Why is Morayshire in several pieces?
Because its inherited geography includes detached inland territories as well as its main coastal body. Detached territory remains associated with its parent county while also being locally situate within its host county.
Are Morayshire, Moray and Elginshire different counties?
No. Morayshire and County of Moray are forms of the county name, while Elginshire and County of Elgin are long-established alternatives. The council area called Moray is a separate local-government area.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Moray
- Local name
- Moireibh
- Alternative name
- Elginshire
- Foundation
- Sheriffdom by 12th century
Morayshire, County of Moray, Elginshire and County of Elgin are names associated with the same geographic county. Its separated form links fertile firth country with a very different Highland interior.