Place name origins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
While modern names of towns and cities generally remain the same they have often evolved from the names of the civilisation that created the settlement.
A wide variation of names can be seen in countries that have seen numerous settlers and invaders. The United Kingdom is a good example, with place names having their origins from the Roman Empire, Saxons, Celts and Vikings.
Contents |
[edit] Place name origins by country
[edit] United Kingdom
The names of villages, towns and cities in the UK have been given at various times in the nation's history. Some date back to Celtic-speaking times while others were given after the Roman invasion of Britain but many have also had many other conquering nations leave their mark on the names (amongst other things) of settlements. Up until around the 14th century place names were mainly influenced by the environment of the area – a hill or the bend in a river, for example. Some names were made by the combination of words across the different civilisations. Many places derive part of their name from the river next to which they were built – Cambridge, for example, was a bridge over the River Cam. Many place names in England have affixes denoting manorial possession in medieval times.
[edit] Brythonic (Celtic) origins
[citation needed]From 800 BC Celtic names (Brythonic and Goidelic) were dominant around the British Isles. Over time the names, along with the Celts, were pushed back into Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and Wales, where these names are still very common.
- Aber – a river confluence or river mouth
- Afon, avon, esk, eye, dee – a river, river bank
- Allt, bre, drum, pen, bryn – a hill or hillside
- Caer, castell, plas – a castle, fortress or palace
- Capel, llan – a chapel or church
- Coed – a wood or forest
- Cwm – a valley
- Din, dinas – a fort
- Llyn – a lake
- Mynydd – a mountain
- Pant – a hollow
- Pont, bont – a bridge
- Porth – a harbour
- Treath – a beach
- Ynys – an island
[edit] Roman origins
Parts of names used until the Roman Empire withdrew from the British Isles until the 5th century.
- Caster, cester, chester, caester – a fort or camp
- Fos, foss – a ditch
- Port – a harbour or gate
- Street, Strat-, Stret- – paved road
[edit] Saxon origins
Names taken from the Saxons up until around the 11th century.
- Bourne, burn, delph – a stream
- Burg – a large village
- Coombe – a valley
- Croft, worthy – a small enclosure
- Don, den – hill
- Eg, ey, ea, eig – an island
- Ham – a village
- Hurst, ley, lea, riding – a clearing
- Ing – people
- Ling, lyng – hill
- Mere – a pool
- Moss – a swamp
- Stoc – a summer pasture
- Stoke – a secondary settlement
- Stow – a holy place
- Stowey, stanway – stone way, paved road (usually Roman)
- Ton, tun, wic, wike – a house, farm or group of huts
- Weald – high woodland
- Worth, worthy – fenced or enclosed area
[edit] Viking origins
Names taken from the Vikings up until around the 12th century.
- Akr – acre
- Beck, kelda, slack – a stream
- Booth – a summer pasture
- By – a farm or village
- Ey, holm – an island
- Fell, how – a hill
- Fiskr – fish
- Gardr – a landing place
- Garth – an enclosure
- Gate – a road
- Gill – a valley
- Hus, toft – a house
- Ings – a marsh or meadow
- Kald – cold
- Kirk – a church
- Laithe – a barn
- Lund – a grove
- Melr – a sandbank
- Orme – a serpent
- Pollr – a pool
- Sker, stan – a rock
- Stakkr – a rock in the sea
- Stokkr – sound
- Tarn – a lake
- Thorp – a secondary settlement
- Thwaite – a clearing in a forest
- Wray – a remote place
[edit] United States
Place names in the United States are often taken from those in the UK and other European countries that colonised the land. One of the first settlements was the Plymouth colony.
