BELANGER English From the given name BERENGAR. Many names that have been transferred from Britain, as is the case with Barnstable, Massachusetts and Danbury, Connecticut. share. Stead The suffix “–stead” comes from the word “stede” or staddt if you look at the Germanic version of it, and it translates simply to “place”. Most place names derive from Norman-French. For example, the river running through Rochdale became known as the 'Roch' through this process. Replaced Old English stow and stede. Finally, we come to the use of (-ing). Since the 17th century a number of suggestions have been made that relate the name Ham to a Hebrew word for "burnt", "black" or "hot", to the Egyptian word ḥm for "servant" or the word ḥm for "majesty" or the Egyptian word kmt for "Egypt". [20] (see List of counties in Michigan.) The use of (-ford) in a place name indicates the settlement was once a crossing point across a river. Many topographical words convey not just an image of the place but also a wealth of information about the likely size, status and pattern of farming practised by the community living there.[10]. 3. Most place-names are of Gaelic or Norse origin but there are traces of an earlier language in some names. Since Noah represents all of mankind (see our article on the name Noah or on the Chaotic Set Theory), Noah's sons represent the three major categories of human mentality. Cambridge, perhaps uniquely, illustrates both effects: originally Grontabricc, a bridge on the Granta, the name became Cantebruge and then Cambrugge, from which the river was renamed Cam. The Roman settlements in England still exist, yet they have grown considerably since the fall of Rome and the Roman towns have morphed into cities with global recognition. Some terms, like cumb and penn, were adopted from Celtic by Anglo-Saxons. Along the south coast of Wales, where English has historically been more widely spoken, many place names are commonly anglicized, such as Pontypool, derived from Pont-y-Pŵl. Australian place names are mainly a mixture of aboriginal and British-derived toponyms. The notion of "amateurish" led to the sense of "amateur radio operator" (1919). Their impact can be seen throughout England and most of the major settlements have a clear influence from across the North Sea. Stow The word “stow” or “stowe”found in several place names including “Stow-on-the-Wold” and Walthamstow, simply means “place of assembly”. When you find (-ham) in a place name, it tells us that the settlement was once a village. Massachusetts has the most, with at least 104 English names for cities, towns and counties, starting with Amesbury and ending with Yarmouth. Ham 1 (spelled חם and probably pronounced as Cham) is the youngest son of Noah (Genesis 9:24). A good example of this is England's second city- Birmingham. The Danelaw was the area of England that the Danish Vikings claimed by warfare from the Anglo-Saxons who had previously settled the area. That notwithstanding, it is probable that the origins of the names of both settlements and natural features is the same, namely to distinguish one from another; and thus that both should be considered place names. For instance, in England, two nearby and related settlements often became 'lower/nether' and 'upper/higher'; Backformation: the process whereby names are derived from one another in the opposite direction to that which would be expected - in many cases a river with an obsolete or forgotten name is renamed after a town on its banks rather than vice versa. For a discussion of the scientific study of place names, see, The examples and perspective in this article, Place name origins in Britain and Ireland, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Toponymy in the United Kingdom and Ireland, List of generic forms in place names in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom, List of Australian place names of Aboriginal origin, List of reduplicated Australian place names, "What's in a Name? Do they basically translate as South town town and North town town? Many places throughout Wales have alternative names in English unrelated to the name in Welsh, for example, Newport (where the Welsh name Casnewydd means "New Castle") and Swansea (derived from the Norse meaning "Svein's island") for the Welsh Abertawe (Mouth of the River Tawe. It is also possible to distinguish regional trends and differences in the naming of places, as is also discussed below. They also named geographical features for … Manchester, future home of the Northern Powerhouse. These settlements were usually on the margins of existing villages and were usually thought of as undesirable land( e.g Flood plains). Another factor is that few large Viking settlements were on entirely new sites: many Viking settlements continued on the traditional Anglo-Saxon sites. Other terms relate to the expansion of farming. Obviously, whether a name element was originally ham or hamm would make a major difference in meaning. Names are given to water features, hills and valleys, islands and marshes, as well as woods and districts. This is true of any culture (eg English -borough, -pool, -ham, -cester, -town; French -ville, German -burg). There are also aboriginal place names. Etymology can be a game of probabilities. Old Norse Origin Place Names Home » Names. in. For instance, if a name no longer means anything in the modified language, it may drift towards a new form; e.g. These (-by) endings, effectively meant it was a village or settlement. In some cases these are in fact related to their Welsh name, but disguised through linguistic processes of mutation, for example Monmouth and the Welsh Trefynwy both referring to the River Monnow (Mon- < Monnow < Mynwy > -fynwy). This thread is archived. Ham meant village or estate. Welsh place names tend to be associated with natural features rather than people, hence elements describing rivers, hills and valleys are common. It was Beormund's eg. Oakham and Hexham are further examples. The capital city. There are also place names from Old English and Scots, such as Edinburgh. The answer is No. More Filters. Place names often need specialists to interpret their meanings. New Zealand place names derive mostly from Maori and from British sources. It does not claim to be exact; etymology is not an accurate science. The use of (- ham) in a place name is a clear piece of evidence to suggest Anglo-Saxon involvement in its evolution. Examples include Oakley, Ashley, Thornley and Willey. Many of the native British place names have been lost to us but the foreign tongue of the recent occupier often allude to the nature of the environment. "Der" means deer, so Derby is a settlement with or near many herds of Deer. The Author of this hub is well read in history, having studied history at University in England. Scunthorpe translates as either Scun's farm or Scun's land. In a two-element name, we call the first part the 'prefix' and thesecond part the 'suffix'. Some general conclusions about the nature of place names, and the way in which place names change, can be made and are examined below. Many place names were shaped so long ago that nobody can be certain if any one explanation is correct. Maine has 32, Vermont 36. However, as names are applied on a larger scale, they may become less useful as place names. Most old Roman settlements, whether actually inhabited or not, were given the title of -chester/caster in Anglo-Saxon (from the Latin castrum, 'camp' or its plural form castra); the specific names for each may only have little relation to the Roman names (e.g. Hamm tun meant hamlet by the water meadow. The is no black and white facts when it comes to history. If you know the meaning of a place name that is not here, you are encouraged to submit it. These have replaced Pictish names that still occur on the east coast. Etymology Of British Place-names: Source: Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isle date c 1900. THE following Glossary contains the principal components of the place-names in the British Isles, and with its aid the derivation of many names may be ascertained, and something may be learned of the physical condition of various localities in early times. Swaledale) clearly represents a definable geographic location. Toponymy, taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical, and geographical information.A place-name is a word or words used to indicate, denote, or identify a geographic locality such as a town, river, or mountain. Recently there has been a movement to revive some Maori names. Many place names are taken from the languages of native peoples. Many in the former New Netherland colony are of Dutch origin, such as Harlem, Brooklyn and Rhode Island. Other experts have argued that once the Viking language became the main language of the region, place names would naturally be named using Viking words. At … In this time period, the Anglo Saxon inhabitants were joined by Scandinavian settlers and they lived under the rule of their Norse neighbours. How Place Names Reveal Our History", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Place_name_origins&oldid=995513802, Articles with dead external links from March 2016, Articles with dead external links from February 2014, Articles needing additional references from February 2014, All articles needing additional references, Articles with limited geographic scope from September 2011, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017, All Wikipedia articles needing clarification, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from September 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. You can use the Key to search for a particular place-name, or to browse through the names of a particular county. Time period, the name of theperson who held that settlement number of counties Michigan. Meaning `` beautiful view '' was of major importance to the Beavers once. 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