He was son of Richard Scot, second son of Sir John Scott (died 1533) of Scots Hall in Smeeth, near Ashford in Kent. His mother was Mary, daughter of George Whetenall, sheriff of Kent in 1527. His father died before 1544, and his mother remarried Fulk Onslow, clerk of the parliament; dying on 8 October 1582, she was buried in the church of Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Reginald or Reynold (as he signed his name in accordance with contemporary practice) was born about 1538.