Place Name Origins

Roman Terms: 50BC - 410 AD • Caster: Fort; Camp; Later town • Cester: Fort; Camp; Later town • Chester: Fort; Camp; Later town • Fos (s): Ditch • Port: Harbour; Gate • Street: Paved way Celtic Terms: 800BC - 400 AD • Aber: River mouth or ford • Afon: River • Allt: Hillside • Avon; Esk; Eye; Dee: River • Bedd: Grave • Betws: Chapel, Oratory • Blaen, Blaenau: Source(s) of stream • Bre-; Drum; Don: Hill • Bryn: Hill • Bwlch: Pass (gap in hills) • Caer: Fortress • Capel: Chapel • Carnedd: Cairn • Castell: Castle • Coed: Wood • Cwm: Valley • Din: Hill Fort • Dinas: City • Dyffryn: Valley • Glan: River Bank • Hamps: Dry stream in Summer • Llan: Church • Llyn or Linn: Lake • Mawr: Big • Mir: Sea • Morfa: Salt Marsh • Mynydd: Mountain • Pant: Hollow • Pen; Bryn: Hill; Head • Pistyll: Well or Spout • Plas: Palace • Pont; Bont: Bridge • Porth: Harbour • Rhaeadr: Waterfall • Tafarn: Inn or Tavern • Tre: Hamlet; Village; Town • Treath: Beach • Ynys: Island Saxon Terms: 350AD - 1000AD • Bourne: Stream • Burn: Stream • Burg: Large village • Croft: Small enclosure • Cot: Small hut • Delph: Ditch, dyke or stream • Den(n): Pig pasture • Eg; Ey; Ea; Eig: Island • Fall: Area cleared of trees • Fen: Fen • Field: Field • Ham: Village • Hurst: Clearing • Ing: People • Lake: Lake • Ley; Lea: Clearing • Mere: Pool • Moor: Moor • Moss: Swamp • Riding; Rod: Cleared land • Stead: place • Stoc: Summer pasture • Stoke: 'Daughter' settlement • Stow: Holy Place • Ton; Tun: House; Farm • Weald; Wold; High Woodland • Wic; Wike: Farm; Group of huts • Wood: Wood • Worth: Fenced land • Worthy: Enclosed land Viking Terms: 750AD - 1100AD • Akr: Acre • Beck: Stream • Booth: Summer pasture • By: Farm; Village • Ey: Island • Fell; How: Hill or mound • Fiord: Fiord • Fiskr: Fish • Foss or Force: Waterfall • Gardr: Yard; landing place • Garth: Enclosure • Gate: Road • Geit: Goat • Gill: Ravine or valley • Holm(r): Island • Hus: House • Ings: Marsh; meadow • Kald: Cold • Kelda: Spring, stream • Kirk: Church • Laithe: Barn • Lin: Flax • Lund: Grove • Melr: Sandbank • Orme: Serpent • Pollr: Pool • Skar: Cleft • Sker: Rock • Slack: Stream in a valley • Stakkr: Rock in the sea • Stan: Stone • Stokkr: Sound • Tarn: Lake • Thorp: Daughter settlement • Thwaite: Forest clearing; meadow • Toft: Homestead • Wath: Ford • Wray: Remote place

Roman

Towns such as Lancaster, named by the Romans after their camp over the River Lune and Chester, which was the site of Deva, a Roman legionary fortress and what remains include the largest stone-built military Roman amphitheatre to have been discovered in Britain, are typical of places named in Roman times.

Celtic

Aberaeron, Aberystwyth and Aberdeen are typical of towns named after the rivers which disgorge their waters into the sea and which the towns grew around. Llandudno and Llangollen amongst many other towns expanded around the local church. Many examples of Celtic words can be seen in Scotland, Ireland and most commonly in Wales.

Saxon

Stow on the Wold and Stowmarket probably developed from the local place of worship whilst Bournemouth was named from where the mouth of the Bourne stream meets the sea.

Viking

Streams in the North of England are more often named Beck and some villages have what would seem like obvious names such as Troutbeck in Cumbria. Many towns and villages in the British Isles are named after original places of worship and those which use the Viking term Kirk such as Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Moorside and Kirkby Stephen all appear in the north including Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands off the Northern coast of Scotland.

Place Name Origins

Virtually all of the place names decided on up to around the 14th Century were due to the environment of the area. For example, Doncaster would probably have originated as a Roman fort on a hill, from the Roman 'Caster' and Celtic 'Don'.

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