James Bond's big secret is out – Skyfall is not only the name of the latest movie about the spy, but also that of his ancestral home in Scotland.

Skyfall is the latest in a series of enigmatic one-word titles that tend to refer to characters or devious plots for world domination, but it turns out to be the name of the Bond family's pile in the Highlands.

The film sees 007 head back to his home in the Scottish Highlands, where a dramatic action finale takes place.

The storyline had been predicted after producers shot at Glen Etive earlier this year, but it has come as a surprise that Skyfall is the name of Bond's home.

Although some scenes were shot in Scotland, the large stone mansion was purpose-built as a set in Surrey using plywood and plaster.

James Bond's Scottish connections go all the way back to Sean Connery and the Ian Fleming novels in the 1960s. Fleming was originally horrified by the choice of the little-known working-class Scottish actor to play his urbane gentleman spy.

However, he changed his mind when he saw the box-office figures for Dr No, which opened 50 years ago this month. Fleming decided to create a Scottish background for Bond in You Only Live Twice, one of his last Bond novels.

An obituary for the spy that featured in the book stated: "James Bond was born of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond of Glencoe, and a Swiss mother."