Liberton is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is in the south of the city, south-east of the King's Buildings campus of the University of Edinburgh.
The name, of saxon origin and formerly written Libertun, [1]is believed to derive from Leper Town, the area at one time containing a small colony exiled from the city. It could also mean ‘barley farm on a hillside’, based on the old english words hlith and bere-tūn[2]
Liberton Church dates from the 17th century but was heavily remodelled in 1815 (by the noted Scots architect James Gillespie Graham[3]). The graveyard contains a very noteworthy "table stone" to the SW of the church bearing one of the earliest known sculpted depictions of ploughing [4]. A modern cemetery lies to the NW of the older kirkyard.
The area is mostly residential, although it also includes a riding school and stables, which take advantage of the nearby Braid Hills area to offer pony trekking leisure activities.
Also in the area is Liberton High School, and it has a thriving rugby union club.
Dunedin, New Zealand, a sister city of Edinburgh's, also has a suburb called Liberton.