Couston
Couston CUS S NT001874 2
Corstoun 1540 x 1543 RMS iii no. 2869 [see CUS Introduction]
Coustoun 1589 RMS v no. 1675
Corstoun 1609 RMS vii no. 9
Crostoun 1663 RMS xi no. 404
Couston Wood 1866 OS 6 inch 1st edn.
Sc cross + Sc toun
‘Farm at a crossing’ or ‘farm by a cross’. From the position of Couston Wood it seems to have lain by the Bluther Burn, so the cross might refer to a crossing of that feature; or perhaps to a cross which marked the parish boundary between CUS and TOB. The loss of r is unusual, and seems to be a relatively early phenomenon (Coustoun 1589 RMS v no. 1675). It may have occurred under the influence of such place-names as Couston DGY.
The name survives in the OS Pathf. Couston Wood on the banks of the Bluther Burn north of High Valleyfield.
This place-name appeared in printed volume 1