Orcadians are the native population of the Orkney islands of Scotland. Historically, they are descended from the Picts, Norse and Scots.
Jim Baikie British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on SkizzWilliam Balfour Baikie (1825–1864), explorer and naturalistGeorge Mackay Brown (1921–1996), poet, author, playwrightMary Brunton (1778–1818), author of Self-Control, Discipline and other novelsDr David Clouston (1871–1948), author and agriculturalistJoseph Storer Clouston (1870–1944), author and historianThomas Clouston (1840–1915), psychiatrist, Superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh AsylumJames Copland (1791–1870), physician and prolific medical writerStanley Cursiter (1887–1976), artistWilliam Towrie Cutt (1898–1981), authorWalter Traill Dennison (1826–1894), Orcadian folkloristKris Drever, folk singer and guitaristMagnus Erlendsson (Saint Magnus) (c.1070–c.1117), Earl of Orkney c.1105–1117John Flett (geologist) (1869-1947) and his son William Roberts Flett FRSE (1900-1979) also a geologistMatthew Forster Heddle (1828–1897), mineralogist, author of The Mineralogy of ScotlandMalcolm Laing (1762–1818), author of the History of Scotland from the Union of the Crowns to the Union of the KingdomsSamuel Laing (1780–1868), author of A Residence in Norway, and translator of the Heimskringla, the Icelandic chronicle of the kings of NorwaySamuel Laing (1812–1897), chairman of the London, Brighton & South Coast railway, and introducer of the system of "parliamentary" trains with fares of one penny a mile.Kristin Linklater, born 1946, voice teacher, actor, director and authorMagnus Linklater (b. 1942), journalist, son of Eric LinklaterJohn D Mackay (b. 1909), headmaster and Orkney patriotErnest Marwick (1915–1977), writer noted for his writings on Orkney folklore and historyMurdoch McKenzie (d.1797), hydrographerF. Marian McNeill (1885–1973) folklorist, best known for writing The Silver BoughEdwin Muir (1887–1959), author and poetDr. John Rae (1813–1893), Arctic explorerRobert Rendall (1898–1967), poet, and amateur naturalistRognvald Kali Kolsson (Saint Rognvald) (c.1103–1158), Earl of Orkney 1136–1158Julyan Sinclair, television presenterBessie Skea aka Bessie Grieve (1923-1996), writer of prose and poetry about nature and Orkney lifeThomas Stewart Traill (1781–1862), professor of medical jurisprudence at Edinburgh University and editor of the 8th edition of the Encyclopædia BritannicaCameron Stout (b. 1971) winner of Big Brother in 2003, brother of Julyan SinclairMargaret Tait (1918-1999), film maker and poetJames Wallace (fl. 1684–1724), physician and botanistWilliam Walls (1819–1893), lawyer and industrialistThomas Webster (1772–1844), geologist and architectSylvia Wishart (1936–2008), landscape artistThe Wrigley Sisters Jennifer and Hazel, international folk duo