Toponymy of England

The toponymy of England examines the linguistic origins of place names in England, and trends in naming. Toponymy is part of onomastics, that together with anthroponymy study the etymology, the use and the typology of the proper nouns. 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'.