Etymology of place names

HASTINGS
• town in Sussex
• site of the great battle in the Norman
conquest of England (Oct. 14, 1066)
• named after a man called Heasta, and his
‘inga’, or people. So Heastaingas, ‘the
settlement of Heasta’s people’
CAMBRIDGE
• city in eastern England, Old English Grontabricc
"Bridge on the River Granta" (a Celtic river name,
of obscure origin)
• the change to Cante- and later Cam- was due to
Norman influence
• the river name Cam is a back-formation in this
case, but Cam also was a legitimate Celtic river
name, meaning "crooked."
WHITBY ABBEY
• Whitby could come from the Old English for stone,
‘hwit’, and the Old Norse ‘by’ which stands for
farmstead or village

• Abbey - mid-13c., "monastery or convent devoted to

religion and celibacy, headed by an abbot or
abbess," from Anglo-French abbeie, Old French abaïe,
from Late Latin abbatia
• at the dissolution of the monasteries, the name
often was kept by abbey churches (as in
Westminster Abbey)

North Yorkshire
AVON/AFON
• Meaning: River
• from Celtic abona, Welsh "afon", Breton "aven", Latin
"amnis"

• Example: Stratford-upon-Avon
• The name is a combination of the Old English
strǣt, meaning “street”, and ford, indicating a site at
which a road forded a river
OXFORD
• University town in England
• Middle English "Oxforde", from Old English
"Oxnaforda" (10c.) literally "where the oxen
ford"

• FORD - Old English

• Meaning : ford or crossing (of a river)
GATE
• Origin: Brythonic

• Meaning: Road

• Example: Gate Helmsley, Harrogate

• Gate has its roots in Old Norse, Norwegian

• For example, Karl Johans Gate is the name of

the main commercial road in Oslo
 LIVERPOOL
• English city on the River Mersey

• "Pool with Muddy Water," from Old English lifer "thick,

clotted water" + pol (pool or tidal creek)

• Meaning: Harbour

• Example: Liverpool, Blackpool, Davenport, Newport

MUNICH
• the capital of Bavaria-Germany derives its
name from the Old High German word
munih "monk" (Latin monacus)

• the first record dates from 1158

PARIS
• capital of France

• Paris derives its name from the Celtic ethinc group

of the Parisii, living on the banks of the river Seine,
with their capital city Lutetia (affiliated to the Indo-
European stem lut "mud, swamp")

• in Roman times called Lutetia Parisorium which

resulted in the present name Paris, omitting the
first component
PRAGUE
• capital of the Czech Republic, Czech Praha,
perhaps from an ancient Slavic word related
to Czech "pražiti", a term for woodland
cleared by burning

• popular etymology is from Czech prah

"threshold"
DUBLIN
• capital of Ireland

• literally "black pool," from Irish dubh "black" + linn

"pool" - refers to the dark waters of the River
Liffey
GLASGOW
• city in Scotland, from Gaelic, literally "green
hollow," from glas "green, verdant" + cau
"hollow."
MANCHESTER
• large city in Lancashire, Mameceastre (1086),
from Mamucio (4c.) the original Celtic name,
which is perhaps from mamm "breast, breast-
like hill," + Old English ceaster "Roman town"
 Sources:
https://www.theintrepidguide.com/english-place-name-meanings/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/origins-of-
english-place-names/

https://www.etymonline.com
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