British toponymy (relating to the mainland and islands closely linked to it including the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, and the Channel Islands) is the study of place names, their origins and the trends associated with naming places in specific regional areas. It is different from the study of etymology, which is concerned mainly with the origin of the name of a specific place. The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland, comprise one of 32 council areas of Scotland. ... The Orkney Islands, usually called simply Orkney, are one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. ... The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. ... Not to be confused with Entomology, the study of insects. ...

British toponymy is rich, complex and difficult. Moreover it is extremely inexact and non-empirical. Many British forms and names have been corrupted over the years through being occupied by many different groups of people speaking different languages with similar words meaning different things. In some cases words used in place names are derived from languages that are extinct, and of which there are no extant known definitions. There are also many compounds between two separate languages from separate periods. Toponymy is the taxonomic study of toponyms (place-names), their origins and their meanings. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ...

The oldest and most ancient of place names tend to be rivers, and are assumed to descend from Old European pre-Celtic languages (of which nothing is known), and must be at least Neolithic in age. There are many other languages which have shaped and informed the nomenclature of Britain: various Celtic languages (including Brythonic, Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish and Pictish), Latin, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Norman French, modern French and a few others besides. A Celtic cross. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Celtic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages. ... Brythonic is one of two major divisions of Insular Celtic languages (the other being Goidelic). ... Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... // Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Picts inhabited Caledonia (Scotland), north of the River Forth. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ...

The Anglo-Saxons contributed elements such as -ing-, -ham-, -ton, -bury, -stead, -ford, and -ley. Scandinavian place names such as -by, thorpe, and toft are commonest in the area covered by the Danelaw, the north and east of England north of Watling Street. Also in this area, church becomes kirk and ditch becomes dike. In the south and west of England, place names are more Anglo-Saxon and Celtic with the Celtic influence greater in the west. Green: Danelaw The Danelaw (from the Old English Dena lagu, Danish: Danelagen ) is an 11th century name for an area of northern and eastern England under the administrative control of the Vikings (or Danes, or Norsemen) from the late 9th century. ... The modern Watling Street crossing the Medway at Rochester near the Roman and Celt crossings Watling Street is the name given to a British ancient trackway which was first used by the Celts mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. ...

Place names in Cornwall are largely Celtic, with elements such as tre-, pen-, and lan-. Names in Wales are almost entirely of Celtic origin, a very common element being llan-.

In southern Scotland, place names tend to be a mixture of Celtic and Scandinavian. In the Scottish Highlands names are generally Gaelic (such as loch, glen, and inver), with Norse influence around the coasts and islands (including island names ending in -ay).

Chester, -caster, -ceter, or other similar elements, indicate a Roman fort or settlement. Medieval Latin added various elements such as Regis (of the King), Magna (great), and Parva (little). Some names are suffixed with the name of a landowning family, as in Stanton Lacy, and some names reflect a connection with the church, such as Monkwearmouth and Newton Abbot.

Sometimes, identifying the origins and meaning of a name is easy. The modern form of the name may reflect its original meaning. A good example of this is Box Hill, Surrey which is what it says it is: a hill upon which box once grew. Sometimes it is not: Beadlam, North Yorkshire (grid reference SE 654 846) has nothing to do with the lunatic asylum (Bedlam, from Bethlehem) of earlier times, but is from Anglo-Saxon (æt) bōðlum = "at the buildings", or its Old Norse equivalent. See "The place-names of the North Riding of Yorkshire" by A H Smith (Cambridge 1928), page 66. Box Hill is a well known beauty spot in the North Downs of Surrey, England, close to the southern outskirts of London, overlooking Dorking to the south-west. ... This article is about the box tree. ... Beadlam is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. ... A psychiatric hospital (also called a mental hospital or asylum) is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness. ... The Bethlem Royal Hospital of London, which has been variously known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlem Hospital, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is the worlds oldest psychiatric hospital. ... Bethlehem (Arabic بيت لحم   house of meat; Standard Hebrew בית לחם house of bread, Bet léḥem / Bet láḥem; Tiberian Hebrew Bêṯ léḥem / Bêṯ lāḥem; Greek: Βηθλεέμ) is a city in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority considered a central hub of Palestinian cultural and tourism industries. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

Back-formation is the process whereby modern names are given to rivers that had the original names forgotten, so the river is named after the town or valley rather than vice versa: e.g. the river running through Rochdale became known as the "Roch" through this process. Statistics Population: 94,000 (2001 Census)) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SD893130 Administration District: Rochdale Metropolitan county: Greater Manchester Region: North West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Greater Manchester Historic county: Lancashire Services Police force: Greater Manchester Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: North West...

See also

• Place names in Irish for toponymy of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
• List of generic forms in British place names with explanations and examples
• Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom
• List of places in the United Kingdom
• List of UK place names with royal patronage
• Rude Britain
• List of United Kingdom locations

Many place names in Ireland in the English language are either anglicisations of those in the Irish language, or completely different, such as the name for the capital of the Republic of Ireland, which in English is Dublin, but in Irish is Baile Átha Cliath. ... The study of place names is called toponymy; for a more detailed examination of this subject in relation to British place names, please refer to British toponymy. ... Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. ... List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England List of burghs in Scotland List of towns in Wales List of towns in Northern Ireland Lists of places List of places in England List of places in Northern Ireland List of places in Scotland List of places... English Regis Bere Regis Bognor Regis Grafton Regis Houghton Regis Lyme Regis Melcombe Regis Rowley Regis Wyke Regis Royal Royal Berkshire Royal Leamington Spa Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Borough Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Former Royal Borough... Rude Britain (subtitled 100 Rudest Place Names in Britain) is a 2005 book of humour and toponymy. ... A gazetteer of locations in the United Kingdom showing each locations county and geographical coordinates. ...

References

• A Dictionary of English Place-Names, A. D. Mills, Oxford, 1991.

1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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