British toponymy
Encyclopedia
The toponymy of England examines the linguistic origins of place names in England
, and trends in naming. Toponymy
is distinct from the study of etymology
, which is concerned mainly with the origins of the words themselves. English toponymy is rich, complex and diverse. Modern interpretations are apt to be inexact: many English forms and names have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to changes in language and culture which have caused the original meaning to be lost. In some cases, words used in place names are derived from languages that are extinct
, and of which there are no extant known definitions; or place names may be compounds between two languages from different periods.
Place names typically have meanings which were significant to the settlers of a locality (not necessarily the first settlers). Sometimes these meanings are relatively clear (for instance Newcastle, Three Oaks); but, more often, elucidating them requires study of ancient languages. In general, place names in England contain three broad elements: personal names (or pre-existing names of natural features), natural features, and settlement functions. However, these elements derive from ancient languages spoken in the British Isles, and the combinations in a single name may not all date from the same period, or the same language. Much of the inferred development of British place name relies on the breaking down and corruption of place names. As the names lose their original meaning (because a new or modified language becomes spoken), the names are either changed, or drift to new forms, or are added to. An example is Torpenhow Hill
in Cumbria
, whose name seems to have grown by the addition of new elements by people who did not understand the original name: the first syllables tor and pen are Brythonic
, how is derived from the Old Norse
haugr, and hill is Old English
, but all four mean 'hill'.
The British Isles were inhabited during the Stone
and Bronze Age
s by peoples of whom very little can be said with certainty. Modern men arrived around 35,000 years ago. Their language may or may not have been pre-Indo-European
, perhaps related to Aquitanian
(see Atlantic Bronze Age
).
During the Iron Age
, we can observe that the population of Britain shared a culture with the Celtic peoples inhabiting Northern Europe at the time. Land use patterns do not appreciably change from the Bronze Age period, suggesting that the population remained in situ. Although there is little direct evidence, the Romans thought that the Britons were 'Celtic' and the names given to historical British rulers of this period are 'Celtic'. Celtic languages
were until recently spoken in Cumbria
and Cornwall
. Together with the evidence of shared culture, this suggests that the entire population of the British Isles spoke a Celtic language(s) up to the Roman conquest, possibly since the Stone age.
The 'underlay' of British place names is thus Celtic in origin, and more specifically Brythonic ('British'), to distinguish it from the closely related Gaelic languages of Ireland
. The oldest place names in England appear to be the names of rivers, many of which can easily be interpreted as Brythonic in origin, e.g. Exe/Axe/Usk, Derwent. In the areas of England in which Brythonic languages were not replaced until relatively late on (Cumbria, Cornwall), most place names are still essentially Brythonic in origin.
After the Roman conquest, many Roman place names appear, particularly associated with military settlements. However, often these were simply latinisation of existing names; e.g. Verulamium for Verlamion (St. Albans); Derventio for Derwent (Malton
). After the collapse of Roman Britain, few of these place names survived. Most Roman sites are known by later names; many are marked as Roman sites by the suffix chester/cester/caster (from the Latin castra = camp), but with no reference to the Roman name. The influence of Latin
on British place names is thus generally only slight.
In the so-called "Dark Ages" which followed the end of the Roman Empire
, major changes in the part of Britain now called England occurred, except in Cornwall. The language of this region became Anglo-Saxon, a hybrid Germanic language originating in north-west Germany and Denmark. Traditionally, this has been supposed to be due to a mass migration of Angles and Saxons into Britain, 'pushing back the Celts into Wales and Scotland'. However, this view is not supported archaeologically, and it is possible that a small ruling class of Anglo-Saxon settlers 'Germanised' this region of Britain over a few generations. This possibility is supported by genetic studies showing that most of the indigenous white population in England are descendants of a small group of Ice Age
hunters and gatherers who lived in England approximately 12,000 years ago. Regardless of the cause, due to this linguistic (if not cultural) replacement, most place names in modern England are discernibly Anglo-Saxon. A large fraction of these contain personal names, suggesting that they were named after the first Anglo-Saxon to dwell there. Personal names are less common in Brythonic place names.
A few centuries after, in the period c.850-1050 AD, the north and east of England and the islands and coasts of Scotland were settled by Norwegian and Danish 'Vikings'. Many place names in these areas are thus of Old Norse
origin. Since Old Norse had many similarities to Anglo-Saxon, there are also many hybrid Saxon/Norse place names in the so-called 'Danelaw
' of England. Again, many of the Viking place-names contain personal names, suggesting they are named for the local Norse/Danish lord or chieftain.
Contemporaneously, the west coast of what is now called Scotland was settled by people from Ireland, the 'Scotti'. Again, the actual details are hazy, and the degree of 'invasion' versus 'cultural spread' is open for debate. It is unclear what language was spoken by the Picts
, the name given to the people who inhabited Scotland before (and presumably after) the appearance of the Scotti; it is assumed to be a Brythonic language. What is clear, however, is that many place names in modern Scotland derive from the Gaelic family of languages, rather than Brythonic. Some place names in Scotland (particularly in the Highlands) may have been gradually modified from Brythonic to Gaelic during the 'invasion' of the Scotti.
After the Norman invasion of England in 1066 AD, some Norman French influences can be detected in place names, notably the simplification of ch to c in Cerne and -cester, and the addition of names of feudal lords as in Stoke Mandeville
. However, extension of the Norman system into the lowlands of Scotland resulted in the development of Scots
as the spoken language, a hybrid based on Anglo-Saxon. Non-Celtic place names are therefore common in the southern part of Scotland, for instance Edinburgh
.
Place names in Britain have remained relatively stable since the early Norman period, breaking down and 'weathering' to modern forms, but without further dramatic changes. At most, some place names have continued to accrue pre- or suffixes, such as 'Little'; or distinguishing features, such as a local river name.
, Gaelic (Old Irish), Welsh
and Cornish
, Latin
, Anglo-Saxon
, Old Norse, Norman French
, modern French
and perhaps a few others besides.
), eventually reaching the British Isles. Recently this hypothesis has fallen out of favour, and cultural and linguistic diffusion is now favoured. It is therefore possible that the population of the British Isles spoke a now unknown language, before adopting Celtic languages
during the Bronze/Iron Ages. It has been suggested that some unexplained place names in the British Isles (particularly of rivers, which tend to be the oldest names) may be derived from this hypothesised proto-European language.
appear to have been spoken in the British Isles at the time of the Roman conquest (see above). It is therefore a general assumption that many place names in the British Isles have a substrate of Celtic origin, if they are not indeed self-evidently Celtic. The Celtic languages of Britain are divided into two families; Brythonic
(i.e. 'Briton-ish'), including Welsh
, Cumbric, Cornish
and the hypothesised Pictish language
; and Goidelic, including Irish Gaelic
and Scottish Gaelic
In Wales and Cornwall most place names are, respectively, Welsh or Cornish. In Cumbria, there are Celtic place names, mostly associated with natural features, rather than settlements. These include the mountains Blencathra
and Helvellyn
, and the rivers Ehen
and Cocker.
In Scotland there is a substrate of apparently Brythonic names in the east and south (e.g. Kincardine
, Dunragit
). However, most Celtic place names in Scotland are Gaelic, stemming from the settlement of Scotland by the Irish 'Scotti', and the subsequent expansion of the Gaelic language.
) and Carlisle). Another partial roman survival was pons (bridge), which survives in Welsh as 'pont', e.g. Pontypridd
. In England, several places contain the element 'street', derived from the Latin strata (paved road); these places are generally on the course of a Roman road, hence the name; e.g. Chester-le-Street
.
Other Latin elements in British place names often derive from the medieval period as affectations. This includes the use of magna and parva instead of the more usual 'Great/Little'; e.g. Chew Magna
. Some Latin elements are more recent still; for instance Bognor Regis. Regis (Royal) was given to the town as an honorarium by George V after he convalesced there.
" and "Anglo-Saxon" are fundamentally equivalent in meaning, though the former is normally used for the language and represents the Germanic language in use between the arrival of the Saxons (with Jutes and Angles) up to about 100 years after the Norman invasion of 1066. Old English existed in a number of forms such as West Saxon, Kentish and Anglian. Middle English
was used from about 100 years after the Norman Conquest until the end of the Middle Ages. Modern English
is derived directly from Middle English. Old English derived names form the majority of place names in England, as well as a substantial number in Lowland Scotland, and some in Wales.
Many of the Scottish place names are derived from English too (or from its late medieval localized form, Scots
); for instance, the Old English burg "town" (dative byrge "in town") develops into Late Old English buruh, dative burig,, then eventually Modern English borough and bury in place-names like Peterborough
and Newbury
. In Scotland and Northern England, -borough is -burgh (see Burgh
), with the same pronunciation, e.g. English Bamburgh
, Scots Edinburgh
.
, a language from which both Danish
and Norwegian
are derived was spoken (with dialects) by the 'Viking
' settlers who occupied many places in the north of the British Isles during the Viking era. In general Danes settled in eastern England, whilst the Norse settled around the islands and coasts of Scotland, Ireland and western England. Although the language of the two groups were essentially similar, there is bias amongst the elements found in place names. For instance -by and thorpe are much more common in Danish place names, whilst toft/taft and bister/ster/bost are more common in Norse names; all these elements essentially mean 'settlement/dwelling'.
. Other names that are suffixed with the name of a landowning family include Stanton Lacy and Newport Pagnell. The influence of Norman French also occasionally modified existing place names into pseudo-French names; e.g. Chapel-en-le-Frith
(Fr. Church-in-the, OE. Woods); Chester-le-Street
.
In Cumbria there remain a number of place names from Cumbric, the former Brythonic
language of this region, examples including Carlisle, Helvellyn
and Blencathra
.
Most old Roman settlements, whether actually inhabited or not, were given the title of chester/caster in Old English (from the Latin castrum, for 'camp'); the specific names for each may only have little relation to the Roman names (e.g. modern Chester
was actually called Deva
by the Romans). Modern Winchester
was 'Venta Belgarum', the 'Win-' element deriving from 'Venta' in a similar way to the names Caerwent
and Gwent from Venta Silurum
in south Wales
.
In Cornwall
most place names, especially in western areas, are Cornish
in origin; e.g. Penzance
(Holy Head). Cornish
being a Brythonic language, such names show some similarity to Welsh
and Breton
. In Eastern Cornwall the placenames show a stronger English influence.
In Northern England, particularly Yorkshire
, names record significant Scandinavian influence. For example, the names Howe
and Greenhow
(both in North Yorkshire) reflect the Old Norse
word haugr meaning a hill or mound.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and trends in naming. Toponymy
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
is distinct from the study of etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, which is concerned mainly with the origins of the words themselves. English toponymy is rich, complex and diverse. Modern interpretations are apt to be inexact: many English forms and names have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to changes in language and culture which have caused the original meaning to be lost. In some cases, words used in place names are derived from languages that are extinct
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
, and of which there are no extant known definitions; or place names may be compounds between two languages from different periods.
Place names typically have meanings which were significant to the settlers of a locality (not necessarily the first settlers). Sometimes these meanings are relatively clear (for instance Newcastle, Three Oaks); but, more often, elucidating them requires study of ancient languages. In general, place names in England contain three broad elements: personal names (or pre-existing names of natural features), natural features, and settlement functions. However, these elements derive from ancient languages spoken in the British Isles, and the combinations in a single name may not all date from the same period, or the same language. Much of the inferred development of British place name relies on the breaking down and corruption of place names. As the names lose their original meaning (because a new or modified language becomes spoken), the names are either changed, or drift to new forms, or are added to. An example is Torpenhow Hill
Torpenhow Hill
Torpenhow Hill is an alleged hill, whose main claim to fame is that its name is supposed to be a quadruple tautology: "Tor", "pen", and "how" are all said to mean "hill" in different languages , so that a literal translation of "Torpenhow Hill" would be "Hillhillhill Hill"...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, whose name seems to have grown by the addition of new elements by people who did not understand the original name: the first syllables tor and pen are Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
, how is derived from the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
haugr, and hill is Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
, but all four mean 'hill'.
Origins
The place names of England are unusually rich and diverse, primarily as a result of historical changes in language and culture. These affected different parts of the British Islands to different extents, resulting in a mosaic effect in the names of places. The exact nature of these linguistic/cultural changes is often controversial, but the general consensus is as follows.The British Isles were inhabited during the Stone
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
s by peoples of whom very little can be said with certainty. Modern men arrived around 35,000 years ago. Their language may or may not have been pre-Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
, perhaps related to Aquitanian
Aquitanian language
The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages....
(see Atlantic Bronze Age
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Portugal, Andalusia, Galicia, Armorica and the British Isles.-Trade:...
).
During the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, we can observe that the population of Britain shared a culture with the Celtic peoples inhabiting Northern Europe at the time. Land use patterns do not appreciably change from the Bronze Age period, suggesting that the population remained in situ. Although there is little direct evidence, the Romans thought that the Britons were 'Celtic' and the names given to historical British rulers of this period are 'Celtic'. Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
were until recently spoken in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Together with the evidence of shared culture, this suggests that the entire population of the British Isles spoke a Celtic language(s) up to the Roman conquest, possibly since the Stone age.
The 'underlay' of British place names is thus Celtic in origin, and more specifically Brythonic ('British'), to distinguish it from the closely related Gaelic languages of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The oldest place names in England appear to be the names of rivers, many of which can easily be interpreted as Brythonic in origin, e.g. Exe/Axe/Usk, Derwent. In the areas of England in which Brythonic languages were not replaced until relatively late on (Cumbria, Cornwall), most place names are still essentially Brythonic in origin.
After the Roman conquest, many Roman place names appear, particularly associated with military settlements. However, often these were simply latinisation of existing names; e.g. Verulamium for Verlamion (St. Albans); Derventio for Derwent (Malton
Malton, North Yorkshire
Malton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 4,000 people....
). After the collapse of Roman Britain, few of these place names survived. Most Roman sites are known by later names; many are marked as Roman sites by the suffix chester/cester/caster (from the Latin castra = camp), but with no reference to the Roman name. The influence of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
on British place names is thus generally only slight.
In the so-called "Dark Ages" which followed the end of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, major changes in the part of Britain now called England occurred, except in Cornwall. The language of this region became Anglo-Saxon, a hybrid Germanic language originating in north-west Germany and Denmark. Traditionally, this has been supposed to be due to a mass migration of Angles and Saxons into Britain, 'pushing back the Celts into Wales and Scotland'. However, this view is not supported archaeologically, and it is possible that a small ruling class of Anglo-Saxon settlers 'Germanised' this region of Britain over a few generations. This possibility is supported by genetic studies showing that most of the indigenous white population in England are descendants of a small group of Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
hunters and gatherers who lived in England approximately 12,000 years ago. Regardless of the cause, due to this linguistic (if not cultural) replacement, most place names in modern England are discernibly Anglo-Saxon. A large fraction of these contain personal names, suggesting that they were named after the first Anglo-Saxon to dwell there. Personal names are less common in Brythonic place names.
A few centuries after, in the period c.850-1050 AD, the north and east of England and the islands and coasts of Scotland were settled by Norwegian and Danish 'Vikings'. Many place names in these areas are thus of Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
origin. Since Old Norse had many similarities to Anglo-Saxon, there are also many hybrid Saxon/Norse place names in the so-called 'Danelaw
Danelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
' of England. Again, many of the Viking place-names contain personal names, suggesting they are named for the local Norse/Danish lord or chieftain.
Contemporaneously, the west coast of what is now called Scotland was settled by people from Ireland, the 'Scotti'. Again, the actual details are hazy, and the degree of 'invasion' versus 'cultural spread' is open for debate. It is unclear what language was spoken by the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
, the name given to the people who inhabited Scotland before (and presumably after) the appearance of the Scotti; it is assumed to be a Brythonic language. What is clear, however, is that many place names in modern Scotland derive from the Gaelic family of languages, rather than Brythonic. Some place names in Scotland (particularly in the Highlands) may have been gradually modified from Brythonic to Gaelic during the 'invasion' of the Scotti.
After the Norman invasion of England in 1066 AD, some Norman French influences can be detected in place names, notably the simplification of ch to c in Cerne and -cester, and the addition of names of feudal lords as in Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...
. However, extension of the Norman system into the lowlands of Scotland resulted in the development of Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
as the spoken language, a hybrid based on Anglo-Saxon. Non-Celtic place names are therefore common in the southern part of Scotland, for instance Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Place names in Britain have remained relatively stable since the early Norman period, breaking down and 'weathering' to modern forms, but without further dramatic changes. At most, some place names have continued to accrue pre- or suffixes, such as 'Little'; or distinguishing features, such as a local river name.
Languages
There are many other languages which have shaped and informed the nomenclature of England: various Celtic languages (including BrythonicBrythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
, Gaelic (Old Irish), Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Anglo-Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
, Old Norse, Norman French
Norman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
, modern French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and perhaps a few others besides.
Pre-Celtic
There is currently much debate about the identity of the earliest dwellers in the British Isles, during the Stone and Bronze Ages. Patterns of land use in Britain suggest a continuity of population throughout these periods and into the Iron Age. However, it has been suggested that the original population of Europe ('Old Europeans' or proto-Europeans) were 'replaced' by Indo-European speaking peoples from the neolithic onwards (the Kurgan hypothesisKurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis is one of the proposals about early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language...
), eventually reaching the British Isles. Recently this hypothesis has fallen out of favour, and cultural and linguistic diffusion is now favoured. It is therefore possible that the population of the British Isles spoke a now unknown language, before adopting Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
during the Bronze/Iron Ages. It has been suggested that some unexplained place names in the British Isles (particularly of rivers, which tend to be the oldest names) may be derived from this hypothesised proto-European language.
Celtic
Celtic languagesCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
appear to have been spoken in the British Isles at the time of the Roman conquest (see above). It is therefore a general assumption that many place names in the British Isles have a substrate of Celtic origin, if they are not indeed self-evidently Celtic. The Celtic languages of Britain are divided into two families; Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
(i.e. 'Briton-ish'), including Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, Cumbric, Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
and the hypothesised Pictish language
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
; and Goidelic, including Irish Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and Scottish Gaelic
In Wales and Cornwall most place names are, respectively, Welsh or Cornish. In Cumbria, there are Celtic place names, mostly associated with natural features, rather than settlements. These include the mountains Blencathra
Blencathra
Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly mountains in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top.-Name:...
and Helvellyn
Helvellyn
Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England...
, and the rivers Ehen
River Ehen
The River Ehen is a river in Cumbria, England. It is a designated Special Area of Conservation.The river's source is at the west end of Ennerdale Water: it runs west through Ennerdale Bridge where it is joined by Croasdale Beck...
and Cocker.
In Scotland there is a substrate of apparently Brythonic names in the east and south (e.g. Kincardine
Kincardine
Kincardine or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town located on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a Burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous minor port...
, Dunragit
Dunragit
Dunragit is a village on the A75, between Stranraer and Glenluce in Dumfries and Galloway in south-west Scotland. It grew up around the west gate of Dunragit House, an 18th century three-storey four-bay country house. It expanded considerably in the 1950s...
). However, most Celtic place names in Scotland are Gaelic, stemming from the settlement of Scotland by the Irish 'Scotti', and the subsequent expansion of the Gaelic language.
Latin
Very few Roman names survived the end of Roman Britain, though many Roman settlements were re-used. These were generally renamed, although usually with the suffix caster/chester, from the Latin castra (camp). In Wales and Cumbria, caer, of the same derivation, was used for the same purpose (cf. Caerdydd (CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
) and Carlisle). Another partial roman survival was pons (bridge), which survives in Welsh as 'pont', e.g. Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
. In England, several places contain the element 'street', derived from the Latin strata (paved road); these places are generally on the course of a Roman road, hence the name; e.g. Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
.
Other Latin elements in British place names often derive from the medieval period as affectations. This includes the use of magna and parva instead of the more usual 'Great/Little'; e.g. Chew Magna
Chew Magna
Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the Unitary Authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the Ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,161.To the south of the village is Chew Valley Lake...
. Some Latin elements are more recent still; for instance Bognor Regis. Regis (Royal) was given to the town as an honorarium by George V after he convalesced there.
English
The terms "Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
" and "Anglo-Saxon" are fundamentally equivalent in meaning, though the former is normally used for the language and represents the Germanic language in use between the arrival of the Saxons (with Jutes and Angles) up to about 100 years after the Norman invasion of 1066. Old English existed in a number of forms such as West Saxon, Kentish and Anglian. Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
was used from about 100 years after the Norman Conquest until the end of the Middle Ages. Modern English
Modern English
Modern English is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, completed in roughly 1550.Despite some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern...
is derived directly from Middle English. Old English derived names form the majority of place names in England, as well as a substantial number in Lowland Scotland, and some in Wales.
Many of the Scottish place names are derived from English too (or from its late medieval localized form, Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
); for instance, the Old English burg "town" (dative byrge "in town") develops into Late Old English buruh, dative burig,, then eventually Modern English borough and bury in place-names like Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
and Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
. In Scotland and Northern England, -borough is -burgh (see Burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
), with the same pronunciation, e.g. English Bamburgh
Bamburgh
Bamburgh is a large village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It has a population of 454.It is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family ; and its...
, Scots Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Scandinavian Languages
Old NorseOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
, a language from which both Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
are derived was spoken (with dialects) by the 'Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
' settlers who occupied many places in the north of the British Isles during the Viking era. In general Danes settled in eastern England, whilst the Norse settled around the islands and coasts of Scotland, Ireland and western England. Although the language of the two groups were essentially similar, there is bias amongst the elements found in place names. For instance -by and thorpe are much more common in Danish place names, whilst toft/taft and bister/ster/bost are more common in Norse names; all these elements essentially mean 'settlement/dwelling'.
Norman French
Following the Norman conquest, some place names acquired prefixes or suffixes giving the names of their new owners; for example Grays Thurrock or Stoke MandevilleStoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...
. Other names that are suffixed with the name of a landowning family include Stanton Lacy and Newport Pagnell. The influence of Norman French also occasionally modified existing place names into pseudo-French names; e.g. Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith is a small town in Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District near the border with Cheshire, from Manchester. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peak District", the settlement was established by the Normans in the 12th century, originally as a hunting lodge within the Forest...
(Fr. Church-in-the, OE. Woods); Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
.
Processes and patterns in British toponymy
For a general list of toponymic processes, see Place name origins.- Back-formation: the process whereby names are derived from one another in the opposite direction to that which would be expected - for example, rivers with an obsolete/forgotten name are often renamed after a town on its banks rather than vice versa. The river running through RochdaleRochdaleRochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
became known as the 'Roch' through this process. CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, perhaps uniquely, illustrates both normal and back-formation. Originally Grontabricc, a bridge on the Granta, the name became Cantebruge and then Cambrugge, from which the river was renamed CamRiver CamThe River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
.
- Element order: In Germanic languages, and thus in Old English and Old Norse place names, the substantive element is generally preceded by its modifier(s); 'Badecca's spring' (BakewellBakewellBakewell is a small market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, deriving its name from 'Beadeca's Well'. It is the only town included in the Peak District National Park, and is well known for the local confection Bakewell Pudding...
). In Celtic place names, the order is usually reversed, with the thing being described (hill, valley, farm etc.) as the first element: e.g. Tregonebris 'settlement (of) Cunebris', AberdeenAberdeenAberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
'mouth (of the) DeeRiver Dee, AberdeenshireThe River Dee is a river in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It rises in the Cairngorms and flows through Strathdee to reach the North Sea at Aberdeen...
'. This is not true of all Celtic names; e.g. MalvernMalvern HillsThe Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...
'bald hill' (cf. W. moel + bryn).
- Translation: The general similarity of Old Norse and Old English meant that place names in the DanelawDanelawThe Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
were often simply 'Norsified'. For instance, AskriggAskriggAskrigg is a small village and civil parish in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is part of the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England...
in YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, 'ash ridge'; whilst the first element is indubitably the Norse asc , ask- could easily represent a "Norsification" of the Old English element æsc . In this case both asc and æsc mean the same - 'ash' (tree).
- False analogy: Sometimes, however, the place names were changed to match their own pronunciation habits without reference to the original meaning. Thus SkiptonSkiptonSkipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
should be 'Shipton' (Old English scipetun - 'sheep farm'). However since sh in Old English was usually cognate with sk in Old Norse, the name became changed by false analogy to Skipton, in this way losing its meaning (since the Old Norse for sheep was entirely different from the Old English).
Problems
- Interpreting some names can be difficult, if the reason for the name is no longer evident. Some names originally referred to a specific natural feature such as a river, ford or hill, that can no longer be identified. For example, WhichfordWhichfordWhichford is a small village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Warwickshire.-Population/Location:According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 318. It is located about 15 miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon and is on the edge of the Cotswolds.-Attractions:For a...
(Warwickshire) means "the ford on the Hwicce", but the location of the ford is lost.
- The elements den (valley) and don (hill) from Old English are sometimes confused now that they lack obvious meaning - for example CroydonCroydonCroydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
is in a valley and WillesdenWillesdenWillesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
is on a hill. Their expected spellings might therefore be "Croyden" and "Willesdon".
- Another problematic element is -ey, as in RomseyRomseyRomsey is a small market town in the county of Hampshire, England.It is 8 miles northwest of Southampton and 11 miles southwest of Winchester, neighbouring the village of North Baddesley...
. This commonly means 'island', from the Old English -eg . However, -ey can also be derived from the Old English haeg, meaning 'enclosure', for example in HornseyHornseyHornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district. It is an inner-suburban area located north of Charing Cross.-Locale:The ...
.
- The elements wich and wick can have a variety of meanings. Generally wich/wick/wyke indicates a farm or settlement (e.g. KeswickKeswick, CumbriaKeswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
- 'Cheese-farm'). However some of the sites are of Roman, or shortly post-Roman origin, in which the wich is related to the Latin vicus ('place'). These "wics" seem to have been trading posts. On the coast, wick is often of Norse origin, meaning 'bay' or 'inlet' (e.g. LerwickLerwickLerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
).
Toponymy by region
Most English place names are Old English. Personal names often appear within the place names, presumably the names of landowners at the time of naming. In the north and east, there are many place names of Norse origin; similarly, these contain many personal names. In general, the Old English and Norse place names tend to be rather mundane in origin, the most common types being [personal name + settlement/farm/place] or [type of farm + farm/settlement]; most names ending in wich, ton, ham, by, thorpe, stoke/stock are of these types.In Cumbria there remain a number of place names from Cumbric, the former Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
language of this region, examples including Carlisle, Helvellyn
Helvellyn
Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England...
and Blencathra
Blencathra
Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly mountains in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top.-Name:...
.
Most old Roman settlements, whether actually inhabited or not, were given the title of chester/caster in Old English (from the Latin castrum, for 'camp'); the specific names for each may only have little relation to the Roman names (e.g. modern Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
was actually called Deva
Deva Victrix
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement evolved into Chester, the county town of Cheshire, England...
by the Romans). Modern Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
was 'Venta Belgarum', the 'Win-' element deriving from 'Venta' in a similar way to the names Caerwent
Caerwent
Caerwent is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and eleven miles east of Newport, and was founded by the Romans as the market town of Venta Silurum, an important settlement of the Brythonic Silures tribe. The modern village is built...
and Gwent from Venta Silurum
Venta Silurum
Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Much of it has been archaeologically excavated and is on display to the public....
in south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
In Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
most place names, especially in western areas, are Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
in origin; e.g. Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
(Holy Head). Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
being a Brythonic language, such names show some similarity to Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
. In Eastern Cornwall the placenames show a stronger English influence.
In Northern England, particularly Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, names record significant Scandinavian influence. For example, the names Howe
Howe, North Yorkshire
Howe is a small village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Ainderby Quernhow and the A61 and 5 miles west of Thirsk. Howe, from the Old Norse word haugr, is an Middle English topographic name for someone who lived by a small hill or a...
and Greenhow
Greenhow
Greenhow is a village in North Yorkshire, England, often referred to as Greenhow Hill.The place name how is derived from the Old Norse word haugr meaning a hill and a mound....
(both in North Yorkshire) reflect the Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
word haugr meaning a hill or mound.
See also
- English Place-Name SocietyEnglish Place-Name SocietyThe English Place-Name Society is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names ....
- List of places in England
- Languages of England
- English place names in other countries
- List of UK place names with royal patronage
- List of Roman place names in Britain
- List of British places with Latin names
- Place names in IrishPlace names in IrishThe vast majority of placenames in Ireland are anglicisations of Irish language names; that is, adaptations of the Irish names to English phonology and spelling. However, some names come directly from the English language, and a handful come from Old Norse and Ulster Scots...
for toponymy of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - Scottish toponymyScottish toponymyScottish toponymy derives from the languages of Scotland. The toponymy varies in each region, reflecting the linguistic history of each part of the country....
- Welsh placenamesWelsh placenamesThe placenames of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English...
- List of river name etymologies
- United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical NamesUnited Nations Group of Experts on Geographical NamesThe United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names was set up by the Secretary General of the United Nations on April 23, 1959....
- List of generic forms in place names in the United Kingdom and Ireland with explanations and examples
- Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom
External links
- Maps of distribution of final elements in English place-names
- Bayesian analysis of UK place-names
- A key to English place-names from the Institute for Name Studies, Nottingham
- University of Wales Place-name Research Centre
- Place-names and the Scots language: the marches of lexical and onomastic research
- Domesday Book place-name forms All the original spellings of English place-names in the Domesday Book (link to pdf file).
- An Index to the Historical Place Names of Cornwall