For much of the 20th century the name became Rhum , a spelling invented by the former owner, Sir George Bullough , because he did not relish the idea of having the title " Laird of Rum ". It is the largest of the Small Isles , and the 15th largest Scottish island, and is inhabited by 40 people, all of whom live in the hamlet of Kinloch on the east coast.
The island has been inhabited since the 8th millennium BC and provides some of the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. The early Celtic and Norse settlers left only a few written accounts and artefacts. From the 12th to 13th centuries on, the island was held by various clans including the MacLeans of Coll. The population grew to over by the late 18th century but was cleared of its indigenous population between and The island then became a sporting estate, the exotic Kinloch Castle being constructed by the Bulloughs in It is now an important study site for research in ecology , especially of red deer , and is the site of a successful reintroduction programme for the white-tailed sea eagle.
Its economy is entirely dependent on NatureScot , a public body that now manages the island, and there have been calls for a greater diversity of housing provision. A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry links the island with the mainland town of Mallaig. In light of this, Richard Coates has suggested that it may be worth looking for a Proto-Semitic source for the name.
The origins are therefore speculative, but it is known for certain that George Bullough changed the spelling to Rhum to avoid the association with the alcoholic drink rum. However, the "Rhum" spelling is used on a Kilmory gravestone dated In the 13th century there may be references to the island as Raun-eyja and Raun-eyjum and Dean Munro writing in calls it Ronin.
The island was cleared of its indigenous population prior to being mapped by the Ordnance Survey , so it is possible that many place names are speculative. Nonetheless, the significant number of Norse-derived names that exist eight centuries after Viking political control ended indicate the importance of their presence on the island. Of the nine hamlets that were mapped in , seven of the names are of Norse origin. Kinloch is at the head of Loch Scresort, the main anchorage.
