County Durham - Etymology

Etymology

Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire. The county is commonly known as County Durham but was officially named Durham until at least 1997. The structural change legislation in 2009, however, referred to the county of County Durham. The former postal county was known as "County Durham" to distinguish it from the post town of Durham. Durham is the only English county name to be prefixed with "County" in common usage - a practice more common in Ireland.

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