Keith (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Chèith, or Cèith Mhaol Rubha (archaic)) is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of 4,734. Keith is historically in Banffshire, a name which persists in common usage and historical references. Keith has three distinct sections: Old Town, where the original settlement was first established; Keith which is the main commercial centre and Fife Keith which was originally a separate town built in competition by the Earl of Fife but which, having proved less economically successful, was eventually joined to form one homogeneous settlement separated now only by the river. The oldest part of Keith dates to around 1180 where the Old Town still remains, now almost indistinguishable from the rest of the town. It developed around the old bridge which was built there by two mourning parents as a permanent memorial to their dear child who drowned in the river at that crossing point in the hope that none should suffer similar loss. The main part of the town is on higher ground above the river, laid out around 1750 by the Earl of Findlater. It is located at the crossing of the A95 and A96 roads. Local services include a health centre, dentist, optician and multiple hairdressing salons. The town has three schools: Keith Grammar School, Keith Primary School and St Thomas RC Primary School. The annual Keith Country Show, held at Seafield Park, is an event in the farming calendar of north-east Scotland. Newmill is a village approximately north of Keith. History and culture The name appears to come from a Brythonic word meaning "wood" (cf. Welsh ), but it may also be related to the Pictish territorial division in this area, which was known as Cé. Another local tradition is that it derives from the Gaelic , meaning "wind", since locals attest to how fiercely the winter winds blow. The Chronicles of Keith, compiled in the 19th century, provide an unusually comprehensive view of the area's history. According to them Keith was originally known as "Kethmalruff", a dedication to Saint Maol Rubha (d. 722), also Latinised as "St Rufus". This dedication to an early medieval saint may imply a Dark Age origin for the first church at Keith (still marked by an ancient graveyard, though the parish church was rebuilt on another site in the early nineteenth century), though no archaeological evidence for