The name "Banff" is uncertain but may be derived from the Scottish Gaelic "Banbh" or "Banbha", a sow, "buinne", a stream, or a contraction of "Bean-naomh", the holy woman (as is reflected in the town's coat-of-arms). Currently, the languages spoken in the town and in its vicinity tend to be the Doric dialect of Scots, and English.