Toponymy of England

The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used in these place-names are derived from languages that are extinct, and of which there are no known definitions. Place-names may also be compounds composed of elements derived from two or more languages from different periods. The majority of the toponyms predate the radical changes in the English language triggered by the Norman Conquest, and some Celtic names even predate the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the first millennium AD.

The place-names of England, as in most other regions, typically have meanings which were significant to the settlers of a locality (though these were not necessarily the first settlers). Sometimes these meanings have remained clear to speakers of modern English (for instance Newcastle and Sevenoaks); more often, however, elucidating them requires the study of older languages. As the names lost their original meanings either due to the introduction of a new language or linguistic drift, they gradually changed, or were appended with newer elements. An example is Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire, whose name seems to have grown by the accretion of elements from three different languages at different times in its history, all emphasising the hill.^[1]

^ Bre is Welsh, dun English for hill. "It looks as though the local British people spoke of 'the hill' and the English, not realising 'bre' was a common noun, took it for the name of the hill. A later failure to understand the meaning of the Old English 'dun' has caused the .. .. name to become Breedon on the Hill" Gelling, Margaret (1978). Signposts to the Past: Place-names and the history of England. London: J M Dent & Sons. p. 92. ISBN 0-460-04264-5.

[1] Bre is Welsh, dun English for hill. "It looks as though the local British people spoke of 'the hill' and the English, not realising 'bre' was a common noun, took it for the name of the hill. A later failure to understand the meaning of the Old English 'dun' has caused the .. .. name to become Breedon on the Hill" Gelling, Margaret (1978). Signposts to the Past: Place-names and the history of England. London: J M Dent & Sons. p. 92. ISBN 0-460-04264-5.

[1]