Dunblane (dʌnˈbleɪn, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Dunblane is built on the banks of the Allan Water (or River Allan), a tributary of the River Forth. Dunblane Cathedral is its most prominent landmark. Dunblane had a population of 8,114 at the 2001 census, which grew to 8,811 at the 2011 census; both of these figures were computed according to the 2010 definition of the locality. In mid-2016 it was estimated that the population had grown to 9,410.
The most popular theory for the derivation of the name "Dunblane" is that it means "fort of Blane", commemorating Saint Blane (or Blán in Old Irish), an early Christian saint who lived probably in the late 6th century. His main seat was originally Kingarth on the Isle of Bute. He or his followers may have founded a church at Dunblane; the cult of Blán possibly came there with settlers from what is now Argyll in later centuries.
The earliest spellings of the name Dunblane are of the form Dul Blaan, the first element being a Pictish word for 'water meadow, haugh' which was borrowed into Scottish Gaelic. There are parallels to Dul Blaan in such Scottish place-names as Dalserf, Dalmarnock and Dalpatrick, all of which commemorate saints.
The earliest evidence for Christianity on the site are two cross-slabs of the 10th to 11th centuries which are preserved in the cathedral. Incorporated into the later medieval building, but originally free-standing, is an 11th-century bell-tower, whose height was increased in the 15th century. The nave and aisleless choir date from the 13th century. Dunblane did not have a rich or extensive medieval diocese (37 parishes), and so the cathedral is relatively modest in scale, but its refined architecture is much admired, as is its setting overlooking the valley of the Allan Water.