The Isle of Bute, called Bute, is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, UK. It is split right into highland and lowland locations by the Highland Boundary Fault. Previously a constituent island of the bigger County of Bute, it is currently part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Bute's resident population was 6,498 in 2011, a decrease of just over 10% from the figure of 7,228 recorded in 2001 versus a history of Scottish island populations overall expanding by 4% to 103,702 for the very same duration. The name "Bute" is of unclear origin. Watson and Mac an Tàilleir assistance a derivation from Old Irish bót ("fire"), maybe in reference to signal fires. This reference to beacon fires may date from the Viking duration, when the island was possibly understood to the Norse as Bót. Various other feasible derivations consist of Brythonic budh ("corn"), "success", St Brendan, or both, his reclusive cell. There is no most likely derivation from Ptolemy's Ebudae. The island was also recognized during the Viking age as Rothesay, potentially referring to the personal name Roth or Roderick as well as the Old Norse suffix ey ("island"). This name was ultimately taken by the major town on the island, whose Gaelic name is Baile Bhòid ("town of Bute").