List of United Kingdom county name etymologies

(Redirected from Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom) List of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom

This toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales it includes ancient and contemporary ceremonial counties, but excludes those English unitary authorities that are not ceremonial counties.

Background

Throughout the histories of the four countries of the United Kingdom, a variety of languages have been used to name places. These languages were often used in parallel with each other. As a result, it is often difficult to assess the genuine etymology of a placename, hence some of the entries below are assigned more than one meaning, depending on which language was used to originally give the place its name. One of the most common words used in county names in the United Kingdom is the suffix shire. This is a West Saxon word meaning share/division.

England

County name	Abbreviation	Established	Language of origin	Earliest form	Derivation
Avon	AV	1974	Brythonic	n/a	Named after the River Avon. Avon is an Anglicized version of a Brythonic word meaning river. County abolished in 1996.
Bedfordshire	BE	Ancient	Old English	Beadafordscīr	Shire of Bedford. Bedford itself derives from Bieda's ford
Berkshire	BK	Ancient	Brythonic + Old English	Bearrucscīr	Shire of Berrock Wood. Berrock possibly from Brythonic "Hilly place".
Buckinghamshire	BU	Ancient	Old English	Buccingahāmscīr	Shire of Buckingham. Buckingham itself means Home of Bucca's people.
Cambridgeshire	CA	Ancient	Old English	Grantabrycgscīr	Shire of Cambridge. Cambridge was previously known as Grantbridge (OE Grantanbrycg), meaning Bridge on the River Granta. There is a reference in Gildas to Caer Grawnt indicating an earlier Brythonic origin. The name of the city became Cambridge due to the Norman influence within the city in the 12th century. The name of the river Cam within Cambridge is a backwards derivation.
Cheshire	CH	Ancient	Old English	Legeceasterscīr, later Ceasterscīr	Shire of Chester. Chester derives from the OE ceaster meaning an old Roman town or city. This itself stems from the Latin word castra, meaning 'camp' (or 'fort'). The city's former name was Legacæstir (circa 8th century) meaning 'City of the legions'.
Cleveland	CV	1974	English	n/a	Named after the Cleveland area of North Yorkshire, which encompasses the hills and coast of the Whitby area. This historic area was partially included in the new county created in 1974, which also included the urban areas of Teesside. Cleveland is derived from Old English and literally means 'Cliff land'. County abolished 1996.
Cornwall	CO	Ancient	Brythonic + Old English	Westwealas	The late Roman name for Cornwall was Cornubia, from the name of the tribe which lived there, the Cornovii, meaning 'people of the peninsula', either from Latin cornu or from Brythonic cern, both meaning 'horn'. The suffix wall is derived from OE wealas meaning 'foreigners', as was also applied to the Celtic people of Wales. In the 6th/7th century AD, the Anglo-Saxons referred to Cornwall as 'Westwealas' to differentiate it from the more northerly land that eventually became Wales. Cornwall is thus a blend of Cornubia + Wealas.
Cumberland	CD	Ancient	Brythonic + Old English	Cumbraland	'Cumber' is derived from Cymry, the word that the Brythonic inhabitants of the region used to identify themselves (similar to the Welsh name for Wales, Cymru). Thus Cumberland means 'Land of the Cumbrians'.
Cumbria	CU	1974	Latin	n/a	'Cumbria' is derived from Cymry, the word that the Brythonic inhabitants of the region used to identify themselves (similar to the Welsh name for Wales, Cymru). Cumbria is a Latinised version of this word, which was chosen in 1974 for the name of the new county.
Derbyshire	DE	Ancient	Old Norse + Old English	Dēorbȳscīr	Shire of Derby. Derby itself derives from the ON meaning 'Animal settlement'.
Devon	DV	Ancient	Brythonic	Defnascīr	Originally 'Defnas'. The word shire was added and has subsequently been lost. Defnas is derived from the Celtic tribal name Dumnonii, which is of unknown origin. The Welsh name for Devon is Dyfnaint and the Cornish name is Dewnans.
Dorset	DO	Ancient	Old English	Dorsǣt	Literally 'People of Dorchester' (cf. Somerset). Dorchester (originally Dornwaraceaster) is an Old English name probably derived from the Roman name Durnovaria, with the addition of the suffix 'ceaster' (denoting an old Roman town). Durnovaria is in turn derived from a lost Brythonic name meaning fist (possibly place with fist-sized pebbles).
County Durham	DU	Ancient	Old English		Named after Durham. Durham is derived from the OE Dūnholm meaning 'Hill island'.
Essex	EX	Ancient	Old English	Ēast Seaxe	Literally 'East Saxons'. The county was the former petty Kingdom of the East Saxons.
Gloucestershire	GE	Ancient	Old English	Gleawcesterscīr	Shire of Gloucester. Gloucester is derived from the Old English name Gleawcester', meaning approximately 'Roman town called Glevum'. Glevum is in turn derived from a Brythonic name meaning bright place.
Greater London	GL	1965	English	n/a	County formed from its predecessor, the County of London with the addition of the immediately surrounding boroughs and districts of the greater metropolitan area of London. Whilst the county dates from 1965 (Local Government Act 1963), the term Greater London had already been in common usage since, at least, the post-war planning schemes dating from about 1944.
Greater Manchester	GM	1974	English	n/a	Greater metropolitan area of Manchester. Manchester itself is OE version of the Roman name Mancunium. The first part of the name in turn derives from Mamm, a Brythonic word meaning 'breast-like hill'.
Hampshire	HA	Ancient	Old English	Hāmtūnscīr	Shire of Southampton; the county has occasionally been called the 'County of Southampton'. Southampton was known in Old English as Hāmwic or Hāmtūn 'home farm', being the place claimed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as being near to the original landing place of the family who became the Royal house of Wessex. Some have claimed that 'South' was added later to distinguish Southampton from Northampton, but there has never been any authoritative source providing the evidence.
Herefordshire	HE	Ancient	Old English	Herefordscīr	Shire of Hereford. Hereford is OE meaning 'ford suitable for the passage of an army'. Originally known as Magonsæte (Magonset) meaning "people of Magnis", a former Roman town near the modern Kentchester.
Hertfordshire	HT	Ancient	Old English	Heortfordscīr	Shire of Hertford. Hertford is OE meaning 'ford frequented by deer'.
Humberside	HB	1974	English	n/a	Area around the River Humber. Humber is a pre-Celtic word of unknown origin. County abolished in 1996.
Huntingdonshire	HU	Ancient	Old English	Huntadūnscīr	Shire of Huntingdon. Huntingdon is OE meaning 'Hunters' hill'.
Isle of Wight	IW	1974	English + Brythonic	Wiht	Ancient OE Wiht may mean 'place of division'. Alternatively, it may be derived from the Brythonic "eight-sided"; cf. Welsh wyth ('eight'). The Roman name was Vectis.
Kent	KE	Ancient	Brythonic or earlier	Cent or Centlond	(Land of the) Cantii or Cantiaci, a Celtic tribal name possibly meaning white, bright.
Lancashire	LA	Ancient	Old English		Shire of Lancaster. Lancaster itself derived from the name of the River Lune (Lune is a Brythonic word meaning 'pure'), and the OE suffix 'ceaster', denoting a Roman town.
Leicestershire	LE	Ancient	Old English	Lægreceastrescīr	Shire of Leicester. Leicester itself derives from Ligore, a Celtic tribal name of unknown origin, with the OE suffix 'ceaster', denoting a Roman town.
Lincolnshire	LN	Ancient	Old English	Lincolnescīr	Shire of Lincoln. Lincoln is derived from the Roman name Lindum, which in turn derives from the Brythonic Lindon ('The pool'). The county was administered through divisions known as Parts. The Parts of Lindsey, Parts of Kesteven and the Parts of Holland. These were each formed as county councils in 1889 and continued until 1974.
London	LO	1889	English	London	County of London. Formed to cover all the parishes across the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works under the Local Government Act 1888. The Metropolitan Boroughs within the county were formed over the next few years. The name London is derived from the Roman name of the City of London Londínĭum, which in Old English became Lundenwic. Perhaps 'place at the navigable or unfordable river' from two pre-Celtic (pre-Indo-European) roots with added Celtic suffixes. The county was absorbed into Greater London in 1965
Merseyside	ME	1974	English	n/a	Area around the River Mersey. Mersey is an Old English word meaning 'boundary river'.
Middlesex	MX	Ancient	Old English	Middelseaxe	Literally 'Middle Saxons'.
Norfolk	NO	Ancient	Old English	Norþfolc	'Northern people'
Northamptonshire	NH	Ancient	Old English	Norðhāmtūnescīr	Shire of Northampton. Northampton was originally 'Hāmtūn', and the county Hāmtūnescīr; the North was added later to distinguish them from Hampshire and Southampton. Hāmtūn means 'home farm' in OE.
Northumberland	ND	Ancient	Old English	Norðhymbraland. Older Norþanhymbrarīce for the Kingdom of Northumbria.	Ancient territory of those living north of the River Humber. Humber is a pre-Celtic word of unknown origin.
Nottinghamshire	NT	Ancient	Old English	Snotingahāmscīr	Shire of Nottingham. Nottingham itself derived from OE name meaning 'home of Snot's people'.
Oxfordshire	OX	Ancient	Old English	Oxnafordscīr	Shire of Oxford. Oxford means derives from the OE name 'ford used by Oxen'.
Rutland	RU	Ancient	Old English	Roteland	'Rota's territory'.
Shropshire	SH	Ancient	Old English	Scrobbesbyriġscīr	Shire of Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury is derived from the OE name 'Scrobbesbyriġ' meaning 'scrubland fort'
Somerset	SO	Ancient	Old English	Sumorsǣt	'People of Somerton'. Somerton is OE for 'farm used in the summer'. Alternatively, Somerset may be derived from 'people of the summer land', with Somerton derived from thereafter.
Staffordshire	ST	Ancient	Old English	Stæffordscīr	Shire of Stafford. Stafford is OE meaning 'ford by a landing place'.
Suffolk	SK	Ancient	Old English	Sūþfolc	'Southern people'
Surrey	SU	Ancient	Old English	Sūþrīge	'Southern district', referring to its position south of the River Thames
Sussex	SX	Ancient	Old English	Sūþ Seaxe	Literally 'South Saxons'. The county was the former petty Kingdom of the South Saxons.
Tyne and Wear	TW	1974	English	n/a	Area between the River Tyne and River Wear. Tyne is an alternative Brythonic word for 'river' and Wear is a Brythonic word meaning 'water'.
Warwickshire	WA	Ancient	Old English	Wæringscīr	Shire of Warwick. Warwick is OE for 'Dwellings by the weir'
West Midlands	WM	1974	English	n/a	Area in the west of the English Midlands, centred on Birmingham.
Westmorland	WE	Ancient	Old English	Westmōringaland	Literally 'land west of the moors'.
Wiltshire	WI	Ancient	Old English	Wiltūnscīr	Shire of Wilton. Wilton is OE for 'willow farm' An older OE name for the people of Wiltshire was Wilsæt (cf. Dorset, Somerset).
Worcestershire	WO	Ancient	Old English	Wigreceastrescīr and variants	Shire of Worcester. Worcester itself is derived from an OE name meaning 'Roman town of the Weogora'. Weogora is a Brythonic name meaning 'from the winding river'.
Yorkshire	YO	Ancient	Middle English	Eoferwīcscīr	Shire of York. York is directly derived from the ON Jórvík ('horse bay'). However, Jorvik was the Norse interpretation of the OE Eoforwīc ('boar town'), which itself was an interpretation of the Roman name for York, Eboracum. This is in turn derived from a Brythonic name, Eboracon probably meaning place of yew trees. The County of York, being the largest county in England, was divided for administrative purposes into three parts called Ridings. The name Ridings derives from the Old Norse þriðjungur, meaning 'thirds'.

Northern Ireland

County name	Language of origin	Meaning
County Antrim	Irish	Named for the town of Antrim; Irish Aontroim, meaning "Lone Ridge".
County Armagh	Irish	Named for the city of Armagh; Irish Ard Mhacha, Macha's height.
County Londonderry	Irish (excluding London)	Named for the city of Derry, from the Irish Doire, meaning oak grove; and London from the Plantation of Ulster by the livery companies of the City of London.
County Down	Irish	County of Downpatrick: Patrick's hillfort (formerly Dún Lethglaise or Fort by the stream)
County Fermanagh	Irish	Irish Fir Manach, "Men of Manach" (a tribal name). Possibly related to the Celtic tribe of the Menapii.
County Tyrone	Irish	Irish Tír Eoghain, "Eoghan's land", referring to land conquered by the Cenél nEógain from the kingdoms of Airgíalla and Ulaid. The Cenél nEógain claimed descent from Eógan mac Néill, a possibly fictional king of the 5th century.

Scotland

County name	Language of origin	Meaning
Aberdeenshire	Pictish	Shire of Aberdeen: Scottish Gaelic scholars believe the name came from the prefix Aber- and da-aevi (variation;Da-abhuin, Da-awin) - which means "the mouth of two rivers".
Angus	Scottish Gaelic	Oengus (8th century king of the Picts)
Argyll	Scottish Gaelic	Earra-Ghaidheal - Coastland of the Gaels
Ayrshire	Brittonic	Shire of Ayr: Old Welsh Aeron - The (River) Ayr.
Banffshire	Scottish Gaelic	Shire of Banff: Possibly "piglet", though likely from Banba - a name for Ireland.
Berwickshire	Old English	Shire of Berwick: Possibly meaning Barley farm. wick appears to be from a Norse word, vik, meaning bay, but also berewick, a term for farm or settlement dependent on a main settlement.
Bute	Scottish Gaelic	Likely from bót - fire
Caithness	Old Norse and non-diagnostic Celtic	Cat headland, from the tribal name of those who inhabited the area. The Gaelic name for Caithness is Gallaibh, meaning "among the Strangers" i.e. the Norse who extensively settled the area.
Clackmannanshire	Brittonic and Scottish Gaelic	Shire of Clackmannan: "The stone of Manau", a district of the Brythonic people of the Forth area.
Cromartyshire	Scottish Gaelic	Shire of Cromarty: Crombaigh - crooked bay
Dumfriesshire	Brythonic or Scottish Gaelic	Shire of Dumfries: Uncertain - perhaps Fort of the Frisians (Frisian is of uncertain origin but is thought to mean curly, as in curly hair) or Dun-phris (fort of the thicket), or Druim Phris (ridge of the thicket).
Dunbartonshire	Gaelic	(Formerly spelled 'Dumbartonshire') Shire of Dumbarton: Dùn Breatainn (fort of the Britons).
East Lothian	Possibly Brythonic with English ("East")	Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English Loðene
Fife	Gaelic from Celtic	Meaning unclear
Inverness-shire	Gaelic	Shire of Inverness: Mouth of the River Nis. Nis is Gaelic, but the original (ancient) meaning of the river name is elusive. It is unrelated to the common suffix ~ness, found all over Scotland.
Kinross-shire	Gaelic	Shire of Kinross: Cinn Rois - head of the wood (or possibly promontory)
Kirkcudbrightshire	Gaelic	Stewartry of Kirkcudbright: Cill Chuithbeirt - Church of Saint Cuthbert; Kirk is either from Norse or Old/Middle English, but the word order is Celtic
Lanarkshire	Brythonic	Shire of Lanark: (Place in the) glade
Midlothian	Brythonic with English (Mid)	Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English Loðene
Morayshire	Non-diagnostic Celtic	Moray: Sea settlement
Nairnshire	Non-diagnostic Celtic	Shire of Nairn: Penetrating (river)
Orkney	Old Norse and non-diagnostic Celtic	Islands of the Orkos (Orkos is suggested to have come from a Brythonic tribal name meaning boar)
Peeblesshire	Brythonic	Shire of Peebles: Uncertain - possibly pebyll, "pavilions".
Perthshire	Probably Pictish	Shire of Perth: (Place by a) thicket
Renfrewshire	Goidelic/Brythonic	Shire of Renfrew: Rinn Friù - point of the current
Ross-shire	Gaelic	Rois - either "forest" or "headland".
Roxburghshire	Old English	Shire of Roxburgh: Hroc's fortress
Selkirkshire	Old English	Shire of Selkirk: Church by a hall
Shetland	Old Norse and non-diagnostic Celtic	Origin disputed, but may be an Anglicisation of the Old Norse Hjältland (in the Scots a "z" is pronounced as a "y" in modern English), or suggested to refer to a personal name (Zet's land). Sealtainn in Gaelic. The old Gaelic name for the islands was Innse Cat, "islands of the Cats": the same people that Caithness is named after.
Stirlingshire	Non-diagnostic Celtic	Shire of Stirling: Sruighlea in Gaelic. Origin uncertain. Folk Etymology has it as "dwelling place of Melyn".
Sutherland	Old Norse	Southern territory. The Gaelic name for the region today is Cataibh ("among the Cats"), which refers to the same tribe that Caithness takes its name from, and was originally the name for both Caithness and Sutherland together.
West Lothian	Brythonic with English (West)	Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English Loðene
Wigtownshire	Norse and/or Middle English	Shire of Wigtown, from vik meaning a bay. In Gaelic, it is Baile na h-Ùige, "town on the bay".

Wales

County name	Language of origin	Meaning
Anglesey	Old Norse	Ongull's Island
Brecknockshire	Welsh	Brycheiniog + shire : Brychan's territory
Caernarfonshire	Welsh	Shire of Caernarfon: Fort opposite Fôn (Môn is the Welsh name for Anglesey, fon is its lenited form, used here after a preposition)
Cardiganshire	Welsh	Ceredigion+shire (Cardigan town is a back-formation) : Ceredig's territory
Carmarthenshire	Welsh	Shire of Carmarthen: Fort at Maridunum (the Roman place name Maridunum means fort by the sea)
Clwyd	Welsh	from the River Clwyd (the river name means hurdle)
Denbighshire	Welsh	Shire of Denbigh: Little fortress
Dyfed	Welsh	(District of the) Demetae (Demetae is of unknown origin but describes the pre-Roman settlers of the area)
Flintshire	Old English	Shire of Flint: (Place of) hard rock
Glamorgan	Welsh	Morgan's land (Welsh Gwlad Morgan)
Gwent	Welsh	From Venta (Silurum), perhaps originally meaning trading place, the name of the Roman administrative centre later known as Caerwent.
Gwynedd	Welsh	According to folklore, after Cunedda. The Roman name for this district was Venedotia, seemingly cognate with Gwynedd, thus preceding Cunedda. More likely therefore to be "the place of white-topped mountains".
Merionethshire	Welsh	Meirionnydd+shire : (Place of) Meirion
Monmouthshire	Old English	Shire of Monmouth: Mouth of the River Monnow (Monnow is a Brythonic word meaning fast flowing)
Montgomeryshire	Norman	Shire of Roger de Montgomery
Pembrokeshire	Welsh	Shire of Pembroke: Land at the end
Powys	Compound of Latin and Welsh	Provincial place
Radnorshire	Old English	Shire of Radnor: Red bank

References

^ Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Asser's Life of King Alfred
Brewer's Britain and Ireland, (2005), John Ayto and Ian Crofton (with Dr Paul Cavill)
Taliesin: Rheged Arise

The Oxford Dictionary of Placenames by A.D. Mills and Adrian Room (1991) Oxford University Press
Pàrlamaid na h-Alba: Ainmean-àite le buidheachas do dh' Iain Mac an Tailleir
The Celtic Place-names of Scotland by W.J. Watson (Birlin 2004) ISBN 1-84158-323-5

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