Cumbrian toponymy refers to the study of place names in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, a county in

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

, and as a result of the spread of the ancient

Cumbric language Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

, further parts of

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

and the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Cumbria UK locator map 2010

The

history of Cumbria The history of Cumbria as a county of England begins with the Local Government Act 1972. Its territory and constituent parts however have a long history under various other administrative and historic units of governance. Cumbria is an upland, c ...

is marked by a long and complex history of human settlement. Geographically, Cumbria is situated near the centrepoint of the British Isles. The contrasting landscapes between the mountains and the fertile coastal areas and the rich variety of mineral resources available in the county have made it a desirable area for habitation since the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

, and various ethnic groups have been drawn to the area, leaving their linguistic mark since the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

Linguistic influences

Sources

Whaley provides a summary of the history of linguistic influences on, plus a dictionary of, the place-names of the area covered by the

Lake District National Park The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was desi ...

, plus entries for

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

and

Penrith, Cumbria Penrith (, , ) is a market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria, England, about south of Carlisle. It is less than outside the Lake District, Lake District National Park, in between the Rivers River Petteril, Petteril and River Ea ...

. The five much earlier volumes of the

English Place-Name Society The English Place-Name Society (EPNS) is a learned society concerned with toponomastics and the toponymy of England, in other words, the study of place-names (toponyms). Its scholars aim to explain the origin and history of the names they stu ...

cover the whole of the former counties of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. Ekwall covers

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the northern part of which now lies within Cumbria.

Brythonic

Since at least the Iron Age, the inhabitants of Cumbria would have spoken

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic ( cy, Brythoneg; kw, Brythonek; br, Predeneg), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, was a Celtic language spoken in Britain and Brittany. It is a form of Insular Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic, a ...

, which is the ancestor of modern

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, Cornish, and

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

. Evidence of this language is mostly visible in topographical features such as rivers (''Kent, Eden, Ehen, Levens'') and mountains (''Blencathra, Helvellyn, Coniston Old Man''). In the first millennium AD the Brythonic spoken in north west England and southern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

developed into a separate strain called

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

. It is likely that most place names with Brythonic influences have survived from this time (''Carlisle, Penrith, Penruddock'') British influenced place names exist throughout the whole county, but are particularly common around the river valleys of the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

and around the coastal plains of the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...

. ''Common Brythonic elements''Based on forms given by A.D Mills in ''Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names'' (2003) *''*blain'' (Welsh ''blaen'') - 'summit' → blen- *''*cair'' (Welsh ''caer'') - 'fort' *''*creic'', ''*carrek'' (W. ''craig, carreg'') - 'rock' → crag *''*din'' (W. ''din'') - 'fort' *''*penn'' (W. ''pen'') - 'hill', 'head'

Old English

Angles from

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...

and

Bernicia Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...

(later

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

) would have gradually filtered into Cumbria since the 5th century, but the area retained a distinctly British identity until at least the 8th century. Settlement by the English began in the north, with settlers following the line of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

and traversing

Stainmore Pass Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South ...

then settling the Eden Valley before making their way along the north coast. Some time later they would have begun to move into the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Valley,

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12th- ...

and

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

, gradually moving further north along the west coast. Surviving place names have been taken to show that the Anglo-Saxons stayed out of the mountainous central region and remained in the lowlands, but after the Celtic kingdom of

Rheged Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...

was annexed to English Northumbria sometime before 730 AD, the Celtic language of Cumbric was slowly replaced by

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

.Jackson, K. H. (1953). 'Language and history in early Britain: A chronological survey of the Brittonic languages, first to twelfth century A.D'., Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press. As a result, Old English elements can be found throughout the county, but mostly in the names of towns and villages (''Workington, Millom''). Very few rivers or mountains contain Old English elements (''Eamont, Stainmore''), but many of the lakes contain the element ''mere'', meaning 'lake'. ''Common Old English elements'' *''hām'' - 'homestead, village, manor, estate' *''-inga-'' - 'belonging to the sons or people of...' *''mere, mær(e)'' - 'pond, lake' → mere *''tūn'' - 'farmstead, enclosure, village' *''wīc'' - 'settlement, farm' (from Latin ''vicus'', often found near Roman roads) → -wick, -wich

Old Norse

The Norse appear to have arrived in Cumbria in about 925 AD and left a huge impression upon the

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

of Cumbria. Originally from Norway, it is generally accepted that they would have come here via their colonies in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, perhaps bringing with them a touch of Gaelic influence. Placenames with ''thwaite'', which are commonplace in Cumbria, are also abundant in the southern counties of

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

and

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

proper, and less in use elsewhere (Norwegian: tveit, tvedt). It seems they would have arrived around the south west of the county and penetrated into the uplands of the central region where the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

influence is dominant. Many mountains, rivers and valleys have Norse names, as attested by the abundance of the elements ''fell'', ''-ay'' and ''dale'' (''Mickledore, Scafell, Rothay, Duddon, Langsleddale, Allerdale''). Many town and villages also contain Norse elements (''Keswick, Whitehaven, Ravenglass, Silloth, Ulverston, Ambleside'') ''Common Old Norse elements'' *''á'' - 'river' *''bekkr'' - 'stream' →

beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

*''dalr'' - 'valley' → dale *''fors'' - 'waterfall' → force/foss *''fjall'' - 'mountain' (usually a large, flat mountain) →

fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle o ...

*''gil'' - 'ravine' →

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

, ghyll *''haugr'' - 'hill' →

howe Howe may refer to: People and fictional characters * Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor Titles * Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...

*''holmr'' - 'island' → holme *''intaka'' - '

intake An intake (also inlet) is an opening, structure or system through which a fluid is admitted to a space or machine as a consequence of a pressure differential between the outside and the inside. The pressure difference may be generated on the ins ...

' *''pic'' - 'peak' → pike *''sætr'' - 'shieling' → side, seat *''tjorn'' - 'small lake' → tarn *''þveit'' - 'clearing' → thwaite *''tún'' - 'farm' There are also a number of

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

influenced place names (''Allonby, Thursby, Ousby, Milnthorpe''), but the majority are situated along the Eden Valley and the north coast of the county, suggesting that they might have come across Stainmore around the 9th century AD. ''Common Danish elements'' *''by'' - 'home' (may be Old Norse, but more often Danish) *''þorp'' - 'secondary settlement' → thorpe

Goidelic Celtic and Irish influence

Some names show evidence of Irish or Norse-Gaelic influence (''Kirksanton, Ireleth, Ireby''). Several Gaelic Saints are recalled in Cumbrian place names, including St. Bega,

St. Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogr ...

, and St. Sanctan. The influence of the early

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or held ...

and Cumbria was considerable.

Anglo-Norman and Middle English

At the time of the Norman conquest in 1066, it is likely that a mixture of Norse and Old English would have been spoken throughout most of Cumbria, which persisted until the spread of

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

after the 12th century. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 lists only a few places in the south of the region, as at this time most of northern and central Cumbria was part of Scotland, but with several battles over the following centuries the whole area became part of England. The influence of Anglo-Norman is usually confined to manorial names and residences and often include a personal name to distinguish between two places belonging to different lords (''Egremont, Beaumont, Maulds Meaburn, Crosby Garret, Ponsonby, Grange''). Although it is often difficult to distinguish between a Middle English name and an earlier one, some places do seem to contain elements (''Tod Ghyll, Brocklebank, Ladyholme, Cam Spout, Monk Coniston, Newlands, Sweden Bridge'') ''Common Anglo-Norman and Middle English elements'' *''grange'' - 'farm' (usually belonging to a monastery) *''great'' - 'large' (denoting the larger of two places) *''ground'' - (denoting land belonging to a person, divided from monastic lands after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536) *''little'' - (denoting the smaller of two places) *''monk'' - (referring to land belonging to a monastery, usually Furness Abbey) *''mont'' - 'hill'

Modern names

Several places in Cumbria have been renamed in more recent times, (''Belle Isle, Maryport, Longtown, Sprinkling Tarn'')

Examples

Abbreviations used in the following descriptions

Br Brythonic Celtic Go Goidelic Celtic Ir

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Sc Scottish AN

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

Areas

*Allerdale 'valley of

River Ellen The Ellen is a river in the English county of Cumbria, flowing from Skiddaw in the Northern Fells to the Solway Firth at Maryport. It was historically in the county of Cumberland. It is approximately in length. Course The river rises on t ...

' *Copeland 'bargained land, bought land' from ON ''kaupa land'' *Cumbria 'land of the Cymry' (the Brythonic name for the British people of the area, related to

''Cymru'', from a

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

''*kombrogi'' meaning 'fellow countrymen'). *Cumberland 'land of the Cymry' from the OE ''Cumbra land'' *Furness 'further promontory' from OE ''fuðor'' and ON ''nes'', the oldest form of the name is ''Fuþþernessa'' (c1150) *Grizedale Forest 'valley with pigs' from ON ''gris dalr'' *Morecambe Bay 'crooked sea' from Br ''*mori- & *kambo-''.Rivet, A. L. F. and Smith, C. (1979) 'The Place-names of Roman Britain' The name was recorded in Ptolemy's

Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...

c.150AD as ''Morikambe'', apparently referring to the

Lune Lune may refer to: Rivers *River Lune, in Lancashire and Cumbria, England *River Lune, Durham, in County Durham, England *Lune (Weser), a 43 km-long tributary of the Weser in Germany *Lune River (Tasmania), in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia Pl ...

Estuary. It was subsequently lost then revived in the 19th century as both the name for the bay and the new

seaside resort at Poulton-le-Sands. *Solway Firth 'Muddy ford estuary' from ON ''sol vath fjórðr'' - or from the Celtic tribal name

Selgovae The Selgovae (Common Brittonic: *''Selgowī'') were a Celtic tribe of the late 2nd century AD who lived in what is now the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Dumfriesshire, on the southern coast of Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's ' ...

*Westmorland 'land of the people living west of the moors' from OE ''west mōr inga land''. The name presumably dates from the time when Westmorland was part of

and ruled from the east.

Rivers

* Bleng 'dark river' from ON ''blaengir'', ''blá'' * Brathay 'broad river' from ON ''breiðr á'' * Calder 'rocky, fast flowing river' from Br ''*kaleto *dubro'' * Caldew 'cold river' from OE ''cald ēa'' * Cocker 'crooked river' from Br ''*kukrā'' * Crake possibly 'stoney river' from Br ''*kraki'' 'stones' * Dacre 'trickling stream' from Br ''*dakru'' 'tear' * Derwent 'oaken valley' from Br ''*derwentio'' *

Duddon Duddon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Duddon and Burton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is on the A51 road and is east of the city of Chest ...

uncertain. Possibly 'Dudda's valley' from an OE personal name and ''denu'' or an unknown Br name containing ''*dubo'', 'dark'. * Eamont 'meeting of the rivers' from OE ''ēa (ge)mot'' * Eden Uncertain. Mills suggests 'water' from a Celtic source, but gives no cognate. * Eea simply means 'river' from ON ''á'' or OE ''ēa'' * Ehen probably 'cold river' from a Br word related to Welsh ''iain'', 'icy cold' * Esk 'water' from Br ''*isca'' * Gilpin named for the Gilpin family *

Greta Greta may refer to: *Greta (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name Places * Greta Bridge, village in County Durham, England * Greta, New South Wales, town in Australia ** Greta railway station ** Greta Army Camp, form ...

'rocky river' from ON ''grjót á'' * Irt possibly 'fresh' from Br ''*ir'' *

probably from Br ''*cunetio'' meaning 'sacred one' *

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

'smooth-flowing river' from a Br word related to Welsh ''llyfn'', 'smooth' * Liza 'shining river' from ON ''ljós á'' * Lowther 'foaming river' from ON ''lauðr á'' *

'healthy, pure' from Br ''Alōna'' (cf ''

Ialonus In Celtic polytheism, ancient Celtic religion, Ialonus Contrebis or Ialonus or Gontrebis was a god (or perhaps two related gods) worshipped in what are now Lancashire and Provence. Ialonus is thought to be the god of clearings and/or meadows. Nam ...

'') * Lyvennet 'abounding in elm trees' probably from a Br word related to Welsh ''llwyf'', 'elm' (cf Derwent) *

Mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

probably meaning 'drizzling' from Br ''meigh'' (to urinate, to drizzle), ON ''miga'' or OE ''migan'' * Rawthey 'red river' from ON ''rauð á'' * Rothay 'trout river' from ON ''rauði á'' * Sprint 'gushing' from ON ''spretta'' * Wampool possibly OE, signifying '

Wōden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...

's pool' * Waver 'restless' from OE ''wæfre'' (cf ''

wave In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...

'') *

Winster Winster is a village in the English Derbyshire Dales about from Matlock and from Bakewell at an altitude of approximately . It was formerly a centre for the lead mining industry. The village lies within the Peak District National Park and The ...

'the left-hand river' from ON ''vinstri á''

Lakes

Bassenthwaite Lake Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately long and wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about . It is the only body of water in the Lake ...

'Bastun's clearing' from an OE personal name ''Beabstan'', or an NF nickname ''Bastun'' and ON ''þveit'' *

Brothers Water Brothers Water is a small lake in the Hartsop valley, in the eastern region of the Lake District in England. Once called Broad Water, it lies at the northern end of Kirkstone Pass, affording views on the descent towards Patterdale. The name was c ...

either 'broad water' from ON ''breiðr vatn'' or 'brothers' water' from ON ''bróðirs vatn'' (there are legends of two brothers drowning in this lake) *

Buttermere Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The adjacent village of Buttermere takes its name from the lake. Historically in Cumberland, the lake is now within the county of Cumbria. Owned by the National Trust, it forms p ...

'lake by dairy pastures' from OE ''butere mere'' *

Coniston Water Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume (after Windermere and Ullswater), and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide (8 km by 800 m), has a ...

named after the village, which means 'king's farmstead from ON ''konigs tun'' *

Crummock Water Crummock Water is a lake in the Lake District in Cumbria, North West England situated between Buttermere to the south and Loweswater to the north. Crummock Water is long, wide and deep. The River Cocker is considered to start at the north of ...

'lake of the crooked river', linking the name with the River Cocker which flows through it. Related to Br ''*crumbaco'' *

Derwentwater Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowda ...

named after the River Derwent * Devoke Water 'little dark one' from a Br word ''*dubaco'' *

Elter Water Elter Water is a small lake that lies half a mile (800 m) south-east of the village of Elterwater. Both are situated in the valley of Great Langdale in the English Lake District. The lake is 1030 yd (930 m) long and varies in wi ...

'swan lake' from ON ''eltr vatn'' *

Ennerdale Water Ennerdale Water is the most westerly lake in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is a glacial lake, with a maximum depth of 150 feet (45 metres), and is ½ mile to a mile (700 to 1,500 metres) wide and 2½ miles (3.9 kilo ...

named after the valley in which it is situated * Grasmere 'lake in pasture' or 'grassy lake' from OE ''græs mere'' *

Haweswater Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a Private Act ...

'Hafr's lake' or 'he-goat's lake' from the ON ''hafs vatn'' *

Hayeswater Hayeswater is a small lake within the Lake District of Cumbria, England. The lake is situated about a mile (1.6 km) SE of the hamlet of Hartsop in the Patterdale Valley. It nestles between The Knott to its east and Gray Crag to the we ...

'Eithr's lake' from an ON ''Eiths vatn'' *

Loweswater Loweswater is one of the smaller lakes in the English Lake District. The village of Loweswater is situated to the east of the lake. Geography The lake is not far from Cockermouth and is also easily reached from elsewhere in West Cumbria. Th ...

'leafy lake' from ON ''lauf saer'', ON ''vatn'' or OE ''wæter'' was added later *

Rydal Water Rydal Water is a small body of water in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley.Parker, 2004, page 35 The lake is 1, ...

named after the valley of Rydal; formerly called Routhmere, linking the lake with the River Rothay *

Tarn Hows Tarn Hows is an area of the Lake District National Park in North West England, It contains a picturesque tarn, approximately northeast of Coniston and about northwest of Hawkshead. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the a ...

probably 'hill tarn' from ON ''tjórn haugr'' *

Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Allerdale, Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District National Park, Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for inst ...

'lake with a gap' from OE ''thyrel mere'' *

Ullswater Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being about long and wide, with a maximum depth a little over . It was scooped out by a glacier in the Last Ice Age. Geography It is a typical Lake District "ribbon lake", ...

uncertain. Possibly named after a Norse chief ''Ulf'' or a local Saxon lord named ''Ulphus''; or from the

Norse god In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, ...

Ullr In Norse mythology, Ullr (Old Norse: ) is a god associated with archery. Although literary attestations of Ullr are sparse, evidence including relatively ancient place-name evidence from Scandinavia suggests that he was a major god in earlier G ...

'' *

Wast Water Wast Water or Wastwater () is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is almost long and more than wide. It is a glacial lake, formed in a glacially 'over-deepened' valley. ...

'Wasdale Water'. The name literally means 'water water' from ON ''vatn'' and OE ''wæter'' *

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

'Vinandr's lake' from ON personal name 'Vinandr' and OE 'mere'

Mountains, fells and hills

* Birker Fell 'birch hill' from ON ''bjirk haugr'' * Black Combe 'dark-crested mountain' from OE ''blæc camb'', not to be confused with Br ''combe'' meaning 'valley'. *

Blencathra Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly hills in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at 2,848 feet (868 metres). Name For many years, Ordnance Sur ...

'chair-shaped bare hill' or "Devil's Peak" from

''*blein *cadeir'' or ''*blein *cuthrol'' * Cat Bells 'den of the wild cat' from OE ''catt'' and ME ''belde'' *

Catstye Cam Catstye Cam is a fell in the English Lake District. It is an outlier of Helvellyn in the Eastern Fells. Name The name of the fell is also given as 'Catstycam', a spelling preferred by Alfred Wainwright in his influential ''Pictorial Guide to t ...

'ridge with wild cat's path' from ON ''katts stigr kambr'' or OE ''catt stig camb'' *

Causey Pike Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 km south-west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fel ...

cf ''

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

'' *

Coniston Old Man The Old Man of Coniston is a fell in the Furness Fells in the Cumbria, English Lake District and is the highest point (county top) of the historic county of Lancashire. It is at least high, and lies to the west of the village of Coniston and t ...

named after the town at its foot, the Old Man comes from Br ''maen'' meaning stone *

Dollywaggon Pike Dollywaggon Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands on the main spine of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells, between Thirlmere and the Ullswater catchment. Name The spelling ‘Dollywaggon’ is used on Ordnance Survey 1: ...

dollywaggons were sled-like barrows used to transport stone and minerals down the sides of steep mountains when mining was common in the Lake District. Pike means 'peak' from ON ''pík'' * Harter Fell 'deer hill' from ON ''hjartar haugr'' *

Helvellyn Helvellyn (; possible meaning: ''pale yellow moorland'') is a mountain in the English Lake District, the highest point of the Helvellyn range, a north–south line of mountains to the north of Ambleside, between the lakes of Thirlmere and Ulls ...

Coates suggests a Cumbric ''*hal velyn'' - "Yellow Moorland" *

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

named after the Roman road which passed along it, a literal translation of the Latin ''via alta''; the summit of this hill is named *

Mellbreak Mellbreak is a hill in the Western part of the English Lake District. Despite being surrounded on all sides by higher fells (the Loweswater Fells, the High Stile Ridge and the Grasmoor Group), it stands in isolation. It is surrounded on three si ...

Cumbric ''*moil brïχ'' or possibly Gaelic ''maol breac'' both meaning "speckled hill" * Racecourse Hill after locals used the flat area for fairs in the 18th and 19th centuries *

St Sunday Crag St Sunday Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It is a prominent feature in the Patterdale skyline, with a distinctive rounded shape. Indeed, it figures so finely in views from the upper ...

Saint Sunday is the local name for

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

, though how he is connected to the mountain is unknown. Crag means 'rock' from the Br ''carreg'' *

Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell Pi ...

Skiddaw Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is the sixth-highest in England. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the ...

- Diana Whaley suggests "'the mountain with the jutting crag'". However, the first element may be a personal name or Old Norse ''skítr'' 'dung, filth, shit'

Richard Coates Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristol, ...

suggests that "it is possible that a Cumbric solution is to be sought." *

Stainmore Stainmore is a remote geographic area in the Pennines on the border of Cumbria, County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name is used for a civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, including the villages of North Stainmore and South ...

'stoney moor' from OE ''stān mōr''

Valleys

*Borrowdale 'valley with a fort' from ON ''borgar dalr'' *Dunnerdale 'valley of the River Duddon' *Ennerdale 'valley of the River Ehen' *Langdale 'long valley' from ON ''lang dalr'' *Lonsdale 'valley of the River Lune' *Mardale 'valley with a lake' from ON ''marr dalr'' *Patterdale 'Patrick's valley', possibly named after St Patrick or, more likely, a later Norse-Irish settler *Sleddale 'valley with flat land' from ON ''sletta dalr'' *Wasdale 'valley of water' from ON ''vatns dalr''

Towns and villages

*Aspatria 'Patrick's Ash' from ON ''asc'' and the personal name *Barrow-in-Furness 'headland island' from Br ''barr'' and ON ''ey'' *Blennerhasset 'Hay farm on a hill' from the

''*blein'' 'steep faced slope' plus ON ''haysaetr'' *Bootle 'huts, shelter' from ON ''buðl'' *Bowness 'promontory shaped like a bow' from ON ''bogi nes'' *Cark 'rock' from Br ''carreg'' *Carlisle 'fort of the God

Lugus Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gall ...

' from Br *Luguwalion -> Lat Luguvalium -> OE Luel -> Cumbric ''Cair Luel'' (Welsh - Caer Liwelydd) *Cockermouth 'mouth of the River Cocker' *Dalton-in-Furness 'farm in a valley' from ON ''dalr tun'' *Frizington 'farm/settlement of the Friesen people' from OE ''Fris'', ''inga'' and ''tun'' *Grange-over-Sands 'outlying farm belonging to a monastery' from the ME ''grange''. -over-Sands was probably added in the 19th century when the town prospered as a holiday resort overlooking Morecambe Bay. The term 'over-sands' may also refer to the ancient act of traversing Morecambe Bay sands as a means of shortening the travel distance in the area. *Hawkshead uncertain. The 'hawks-' might either mean 'hawk' or be the ON personal name Haukr and the '-head' may mean 'head' from OE ''heofod'' or 'summer farm, shieling' from ON ''saetr'' *Kendal 'valley of the River Kent' from ON ''Kent dalr'' *Keswick 'cheese farm' from OE ''cēse wic'' lso ON "vik" 'landing place' (i.e. village)*Kirkby 'village with a church' from ON ''kirk by'' *Maryport named after the wife of Humphrey Senhouse who developed the town into a port. It was originally called Ellenfoot as it stood at the foot of the River Ellen but was changed in 1756 as the town developed. *Millom 'mills' from OE ''millen'' *Milnthorpe 'village with mills' from OE ''millen'' and Da ''þorp'' *Threlkeld 'thrall's well' from ON ''þrœl kelda'' *Ulpha 'wolf hill' from ON ''ulfr haugr'' *Ulverston 'Ulfr's farmstead' from ON ''Ulfrs tun'' (''ulfr'' is also the ON word for 'wolf') *Whitehaven 'white harbour' from ON ''hvit hafn'' *Workington 'farm/settlement of Weorc's people' from OE ''Weorc'', ''inga'' and ''tun''

Islands

*Belle Isle, Windermere 'beautiful isle' from Fr ''belle'' :: originally named Langholme, ON 'long island', it was renamed in 1781 by its new owner Isabella Curwen *Chapel Island, Morecambe Bay named for the chapel built here in the 14th century by monks from nearby Conishead Priory to serve the needs of travellers and fishermen on the sands of Morecambe Bay. *Foulney Island, Morecambe Bay 'island of birds' from ON ''fuglena'' and ON ''ey'' :: Foulney is now a bird sanctuary and site of special scientific interest *Ladyholme, Windermere 'island of Our Lady'. ME, using ON ''holmr'' ::

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

's hermitage was here, mentioned 1272 *Lord's Island, Derwentwater probably named after the Earls of Derwentwater. *Piel Island, Morecambe Bay named after

Piel Castle Piel Castle, also known as Fouldry Castle or the Pile of Fouldray, is a castle situated on the south-eastern point of Piel Island, off the coast of the Furness Peninsula in north-west England. Built in the early-14th century by John Cockerham, ...

. ::The island was originally called Foudrey or Fotheray, possibly from ON ''fouder ey'' meaning 'fodder island', and the castle was called the 'Pile

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

of Fotherey'. *Rampsholme, Derwentwater probably 'Hrafn's island' from ON ''Hrafns holmr'' or 'wild garlic island' with the OE ''hramsa''. *Roa Island, Morecambe Bay 'Red Island' from ON ''rauðr'' :: the area is rich in red

haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

*St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater named after the 7th-century saint who was a hermit on this island. :: the island became a place of pilgrimage by 1374 *Walney, Irish Sea 'Isle of the British' from ON ''valna ey'' :: the Old English name for Walney was ''Wagneia'', 'island of quicksands'. In the

it is called Houganai or island of Hougun. Hougun, from the

word ''haugr'' meaning hill or mound, is also the name given to Furness in Domesday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumbrian Toponymy

Toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

Celtic toponyms Place name etymologies English toponymy History of Cumbria Geography of Cumbria