The name Bonaly may be derived from the Scottish Gaelic Bonn àth Linne (meaning "the pool at the bottom ford") or from Bàn àth Linne (meaning "the pool at the white ford") [REF].
In Timothy Pont's detailed 1654 map of Scotland, it appears as a small settlement close to the Pentland Hills, labelled Bonely, and also appears on the Map of the Three Lothians in 1773 as Bonilie [REF].