The study of place names is called toponymy; for a more detailed examination of this subject in relation to British place names, please refer to Toponymy in Great Britain. This article lists a number of common generic forms found in place names in Great Britain and Ireland, their meanings and some examples of their use.
Contents |
Key to languages: Bry. Brythonic; C - Cumbric; K - Cornish; I - Irish; L - Latin; ME - Middle English; NF - Norman French; OE - Old English; ON - Old Norse; P - Pictish; SG - Scots Gaelic; W - Welsh
| Term | Origin | Meaning | Example | Position | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aber[1] | C, W, P, K | mouth (of a river), confluence, a meeting of waters | Aberystwyth, Aberdyfi, Aberdeen, Aberuthven | prefix |
Further information: Aber and Inver (placename elements)
|
| ac, acc, ock | OE | acorn, or oak tree | Accrington,[2] Acomb, Acton, Matlock[3] | ||
| afon[1] | W, SG, K, I | river | River Avon, Glanyrafon | W afon is pronounced "AH-von"; several English rivers are named Avon. In Irish the word, spelled "abhann", is mainly (though not exclusively) pronounced OW-en | |
| ar, ard[4] | I, SG | height | Armagh, Ardglass | ||
| ash | OE | ash tree | Ashton-under-Lyne[5] | ||
| ast | OE | east | Aston[6] | prefix | |
| auch(en)-, ach-[4] | I, SG | field | Auchendinny, Auchenshuggle, Achnasheen | prefix | anglicised from achadh. Ach- is generally the Highland form, and Auch- the lowland. Auchen- "means field of the X" (Achadh nan X) |
| auchter-[4] | I, SG | height, top of something | Auchtermuchty, Auchterarder | prefix | anglicised from Uachdar |
| axe, exe, usk | Bry. | from isca, meaning water | Exeter, River Axe (Devon), River Exe, River Usk, Axminster. | ||
| ay, y, ey[7] | OE/ON | island | Ramsay, Westray, Lundy,[8] Orkney | suffix (usually) | |
| bal, balla, bally, ball[4] | SG, I | farm, homestead | Ballachulish, Balerno, Ballymena, Ballinamallard | prefix | anglicised from baile |
| beck[7] | OE,ON | stream | Holbeck,[9] Beckinsale, Troutbeck, Cod Beck | cf. ger. Bach | |
| berg, berry[7] | OE/ON | hill (cf. 'iceberg') | Roseberry Topping, | In Farnborough (OE Fernaberga),[10] berg has converged toward borough | |
| bex | OE | box, the tree | Bexley, Bexhill-on-Sea[11] | The OE name of Bexhill-on-Sea was Bexelei, a glade where box grew.[11] | |
| blen, blaen | C, W | fell, hill, upland | Blencathra, Blencogo, Blaenau Ffestiniog | ||
| bost[7] | ON | farm | Leurbost | suffix | cf. ster, (bol)staðr; this form is usually found in the Outer Hebrides |
| bourne, burn | OE | brook, stream | Bournemouth, Eastbourne,[12] Ashbourne, Blackburn |
Further information: Bourne (placename)
cf. ger. -born as in Herborn |
|
| brad | OE | broad | Bradford[13] | prefix | |
| bre[1] | C, W, K | hill | Bredon, Carn Brea | prefix | |
| bury, borough, brough, burgh | OE | fortified enclosure | Aylesbury, Dewsbury, Bury,[14] Middlesbrough,[15] Edinburgh, Bamburgh, Peterborough | (usually) suffix | See Borough for further information and other uses. Burgh is primarily Northumbrian and Scots. Cf. nl. and ger. Burg |
| by[7] | ON | settlement, village | Grimsby,[16] Tenby | usually suffix but compare Bicker (the town marsh) | also survives in bylaw and by-election |
| carden | P | thicket | Kincardine, Cardenden | suffix | |
| caster, chester, cester, ceter | OE (<L) | camp, fortification (of Roman origin) | Lancaster,[17] Doncaster, Gloucester, Caister, Manchester, Worcester, Chester, Exeter | suffix | |
| caer, car[1] | C, W (<L) | camp, fortification | Caerdydd, Caerleon, Carlisle,[18] Caerfyrddin | prefix | derived from Brythonic "caer" cf Chester (OE.)/Castra (L.)
Further information: Caer
|
| cheap, chipping | OE | market | Chipping Norton,[19] Chipping Campden, Chepstow | also as part of a street name, e.g. Cheapside. 'Chippenham' is from a personal name. | |
| combe | OE (<W) | valley | Woolacombe (Devon), Doccombe, Ilfracombe[20] | usually pronounced 'coo-m' or 'cum', cognate with cwm | |
| coed[1] | W | wood, forest | Betws-y-coed | ||
| cot, cott | OE,W | cottage, small building or derived from Bry/W Coed or Coet meaning a wood | Ascot, Draycott in the Clay, Swadlincote[21] | suffix | |
| cul | C | narrow | Culcheth[22] | prefix | |
| cwm, cum[1] | W, C | valley | Cwmaman, Cumdivock, Cwmann, Cwmbran, Cwm Head | prefix | Borrowed into old English as suffix "coombe". 'Cwm' in Welsh and 'Cum', in Cumbric. |
| cum | L | with | Salcott-cum-Virley, Cockshutt-cum-Petton | hyphenated between two other names | Used where two parishes were combined into one. Unrelated to Cumbric cum. |
| dal[4] | SG, I | meadow, low lying area by river | Dalry, Dalmellington | prefix | Cognate with and probably influenced by P Dol |
| dale[7] | OE/ON | valley OE, allotment OE | Airedale i.e. valley of the River Aire, Rochdale, Saxondale | suffix | Cognate with Tal (Ger.), dalr (ON) |
| dean, den, don | OE - denu | valley (dene) | Croydon,[23] Dean Village, Horndean, Todmorden[24] | suffix | the geography is often the only indicator as to the original root word (cf. don, a hill) |
| din, dinas[1] | W | fort | Dinas Powys | prefix | homologous to 'dun'; see below |
| don, den | OE | hill | Abingdon,[25] Bredon, Willesden | suffix | |
| drum[4] | SG, I | ridge, back | Drumchapel, Drumnacanvy, Drumnadrochit | prefix | anglicised from druim |
| dun, dum[4] | SG, I | fort | Dundee, Dumbarton, Dungannon | prefix | derived from dùn.
Further information: Dun
|
| ey, ea, eg, eig | OE eg | island | Romsey,[26] Athelney, Ely | cf. Low German -oog as in Langeoog | |
| ey | OE haeg | enclosure | Hornsey,[27] Hay (-on-Wye) | separate meaning to -ey 'island' - see above | |
| field | OE | open land, a forest clearing | Sheffield,[28] Huddersfield, Wakefield, Mansfield, Macclesfield, Mirfield | suffix | cf. ger. Feld |
| fin | SG | white, holy | Findochty | prefix | anglicised from 'fionn' |
| firth | OE | wood or woodland | Holmfirth, Chapel-en-le-Frith[29] | suffix | |
| firth[7] | ON | fjord, inlet | Burrafirth, Firth of Forth | from Norse fjorðr | |
| ford, forth | OE | ford, crossing | Bradford, Ampleforth, Watford | cf. ger. -furt as in Frankfurt am Main | |
| fos, foss | L, OE | ditch | River Foss, Fangfoss[30] | Separate from ON 'foss, force' - see below | |
| foss, force[7] | ON | waterfall | Aira Force, High Force | Separate from L/OE 'fos, foss' - see above | |
| gate | ON | road | Gate Helmsley,[31] Holgate | ||
| garth[7] | ON | enclosure | Aysgarth | cf. ger. -gart as in Stuttgart | |
| gill, ghyll[7] | ON | ravine, narrow gully | Gillamoor, Garrigill, Dungeon Ghyll | ||
| glen[4] | SG, I | narrow valley, dale | Rutherglen, Glenarm, Corby Glen | anglicised from gleann | |
| gowt[32][33] | Water outfall, sluice, drain | Guthram Gowt, Anton's Gowt | First ref gives the word as the local pronunciation of 'Go Out'; Second as 'A water-pipe under the ground. A sewer. A flood-gate, through which the marsh-water runs from the reens into the sea.'. Reen is a Somerset word, not used in the Fens. Gout appears to be cognate with the French égout, sewer. Though the modern mind associates the word 'sewer' with foul water, it was not always necessarily so.[34] | ||
| ham | OE | farm, homestead, [settlement] | Rotherham,[35] Newham, Nottingham[36] | suffix | often confused by hamm, an enclosure; cf. nl. hem and ger. Heim |
| hithe, hythe | OE | wharf, place for landing boats | Rotherhithe,[37] Hythe, Erith | ||
| holm | OE | island | Holmfirth, Hempholme[38] | ||
| hope | OE | valley, enclosed area | Woolhope, Glossop[39] | cf. ger. Hof | |
| howe | ON haugr | mound, hill, knoll, | Howe, Norfolk, Howe, North Yorkshire[40] | ||
| hurst | OE | (wooded) hill | Dewhurst, Woodhurst[41] | cf. ger. Horst | |
| ing | OE ingas | people of | Reading,[42] the people (followers) of Reada, Spalding, the people of Spald[43] | suffix | sometimes survives in an apparent plural form e.g. Hastings;[44] also, often combined with 'ham' or 'ton'; 'homestead of the people of' (e.g. Birmingham, Bridlington); cf. nl. and ger. -ing(en) as in Groningen, Göttingen, or Straubing |
| ing | OE | place, small stream | Lockinge[45] | suffix | difficult to distinguish from -ingas without examination of early place-name forms. |
| inver[4] | SG | mouth of (a river), confluence, a meeting of waters | Inverness | prefix | cf. 'aber'. Further information: Aber and Inver (placename elements)
|
| keld | ON | spring | Keld, Threlkeld[46] | ||
| keth, cheth | C | wood | Penketh, Culcheth[22] | suffix | cf. W. 'coed' |
| kil[4] | SG, I | monastic cell, old church | Kilmarnock, Killead | prefix | anglicised from Cill |
| kin[4] | SG, I | head | Kincardine, Kinallen | prefix | anglicised from Ceann |
| king | OE/ON | king, tribal leader | King's Norton, King's Lynn,[47] Kingston, Kingston Bagpuize, Coningsby[48] | ||
| kirk[7] | ON | church | Kirkwall, Ormskirk, Colkirk |
Further information: Kirk (placename element)
|
cf. ger -kirch as in Altkirch |
| kyle[4] | SG | narrows | Kyle of Lochalsh | prefix | anglicised from Caol |
| lan, lhan, llan[1] | C, K, P, W | church, churchyard, village with church, parish | Lanteglos (Cornwall), Lhanbryde (Moray), Lanercost, Llanbedr Pont Steffan, Llanybydder, Llanwenog, Llannwnen | prefix, |
Further information: Llan (placename element)
|
| lang | OE | long | Langdale,[49] Great Langton, Kings Langley | prefix | cf. ger. -langen as in Erlangen |
| law, low | OE | from hlaw, a rounded hill | Charlaw, Tow Law, Lewes, Ludlow[50] | often standalone | often a hill with a barrow or hillocks on its summit |
| le | NF? | from archaic French lès,[51] in the vicinity of, near to | Chester-le-Street | interfix | Hartlepool appears to contain le by folk etymology; older spellings show no such element. |
| lea, ley, leigh | OE | from leah, a woodland clearing | Barnsley,[52] Hadleigh, Leigh | (usually) suffix | cf. nl. -loo as in Waterloo, ger. -loh as in Gütersloh |
| lin, llyn[1] | C, W | lake (or simply water) | Lindow, Lindefferon, Llyn Brianne, Pen Llyn | usually prefix | |
| ling, lyng | OE | heather | Lingmell | ||
| magna | L | great | Appleby Magna, Chew Magna, Wigston Magna | Primarily a medieval affectation | |
| mere | OE | lake, pool | Windermere,[53] Grasmere, Cromer[54] | ||
| minster | OE | large church, monastery | Westminster, Wimborne Minster[55] | cf. ger. Münster | |
| moss | OE | Swamp, bog | Mossley, Lindow Moss, Moss Side[56] | cf. ger. Moos | |
| mouth | ME | Mouth (of a river), bay | Plymouth, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Monmouth | suffix | cf. ger. Münden or Gemünd |
| mynydd[1] | W | mountain | Mynydd Moel | prefix | |
| nan, nans | K | valley | Nancledra (Cornwall) | prefix | |
| nant[1] | C, W | ravine or the stream in it | Nantgarw, Nantwich | prefix | same origin as nan, nans above |
| ness[7] | OE, ON | promontory, headland (literally 'nose') | Sheerness, Skegness, Inverness, Furness | suffix | |
| nor | OE | north | Norton, Norbury, Norwich[57] | prefix | |
| pant[1] | W | a hollow | Pantmawr | ||
| parva | L | little | Appleby Parva, Wigston Parva | ||
| pen[1] | C, K, W | head (headland or hill) | Penzance, Pendle, Penrith | prefix | also Pedn in W. Cornwall |
| pit | P | portion, share, farm | Pitlochry (Perthshire), Pitmedden | prefix | homologous with K peath |
| pol | C, K | pool or lake | Polperro (Cornwall), Poltragow | prefix | |
| pont[1] | L, K, W | bridge | Pontypridd, Pontheugh | prefix | can also be found in its mutated form bont, e.g., Pen-y-bont (Bridgend); originally from Latin pons |
| pool | harbour | Liverpool, Blackpool, Hartlepool[58] | suffix | ||
| porth[1] | K, W | harbour | Porthcawl, Porthaethwy | prefix | |
| port | ME | port, harbour | Davenport | suffix | |
| shaw | OE | a wood | Penshaw, Openshaw[59] | standalone or suffix | a fringe of woodland |
| shep, ship | OE | sheep | Shepshed, Shepton Mallet, Shipton, North Yorkshire | prefix | |
| stan | OE | stone, stony | Stanmore, Stamford,[60] Stanlow | prefix | cf. ger. Stein |
| stead | OE | place, enclosed pasture | Hampstead, Berkhamsted[61] | suffix | cf. ger. Stadt or -stätt as in Eichstätt |
| ster[7] | ON | farm | Lybster, Scrabster | suffix | cf. -bost from (bol)staðr |
| stoke | OE stoc | dependent farmstead, secondary settlement | Stoke-on-Trent,[62] Stoke Damerel, Basingstoke | (usually) standalone | |
| stow | OE | (holy) place (of assembly) | Stow-on-the-Wold,[63] Padstow, Bristol,[64] Stowmarket | ||
| strath[4] | SG | wide valley, vale | Strathmore (Angus) | prefix | derived from srath (but conflated with Brythonic "Ystrad") |
| streat, street | L, OE | road (Roman) | Spital-in-the-Street, Chester-le-Street, Streatham | derived from strata, L. 'paved road' | |
| sud, sut | OE | south | Sudbury,[65] Sutton | prefix | |
| swin | OE | pigs, swine | Swindon, Swinford (Leicestershire)[66] | ||
| tarn | ON | lake | In modern English, usually a glacial lake in a coombe. | ||
| thorp, thorpe | ON | secondary settlement | Cleethorpes,[67] Thorpeness | an outlier of an earlier settlement.
Further information: Thorp
cf. ger. Dorf |
|
| thwaite, twatt[7] | ON thveit | a forest clearing with a dwelling, or parcel of land | Huthwaite, Twatt | suffix | |
| tre[1] | C, K, W | settlement | Trevose Head, Tregaron, Trevercraig | prefix | |
| tilly[4] | SG | hillock | Tillicoultry, Tillydrone | prefix | |
| toft[7] | ON | homestead | Lowestoft | usually suffix | |
| treath | K | beach | Tywardreath | ||
| tun, ton | OE tun | enclosure, estate, homestead | Tunstead, Warrington, Brighton,[68] Coniston | OE pronunciation 'toon'. Compare en. town, nl. tuin (garden) and ger. Zaun (fence); all derived from Germanic root 'tun | |
| upon | ME | by/"upon" a river | Newcastle upon Tyne, Stratford-upon-Avon | interfix | |
| weald, wold | OE | high woodland | Wealdstone, Stow-on-the-Wold,[63] Southwold | cf. ger. Wald | |
| wick, wich, wych, wyke | L, OE | place, settlement | Norwich, Ipswich, Alnwick | suffix | related to Latin 'vicus' (place), cf. nl. 'wijk' |
| wick[7] | ON vik | bay | Runswick, Wick, Lerwick | suffix | cf. Jorvik (modern York) |
| whel | C | mine or cave | Wheldrake | ||
| worth, worthy, wardine | OE | enclosure | Tamworth,[69] Farnworth, Holsworthy, Bredwardine | usually suffix | |
| ynys[1] | W | Island | Ynys Mon (Anglesey) |