Pub name

Pub names are used to identify and differentiate traditional drinking establishments. Many pubs are centuries old, and were named at a time when most of their customers were illiterate, but could recognise pub signs. The use of signage was not confined to drinking establishments. British pubs may be named after and depict anything from everyday (particularly agricultural) objects, to sovereigns, aristocrats and landowners (shown by their coats of arms). Other names come from historic events, livery companies, occupations, sports, and craftsmen's guilds. One of the most common pub names is the Red Lion.

Irish pubs tend to be named after the current or former owner. In Australia a high proportion of older pubs have names ending in "hotel", and generally their names reflect hotel naming conventions.

This list contains both contemporary/modern and historical examples.

Methodology

Although the word "the" appears on much pub signage, it is ignored in the following examples; the word "ye' is likewise ignored as it is only an archaic spelling of "the". "Y" represents an obsolete character (''þ'', the letter Thorn, which is nowadays used only in Icelandic) for the ''th'' sound. Its later forms resembled a blackletter ''y'', and it was never pronounced with a ''y'' sound. Similarly, other archaic spellings such as "olde worlde" are not distinguished below.

Animals

Names like ''Fox and Hounds'', ''Dog and Duck'', ''Dog and Gun'', ''Hare and Hounds'', etc., refer to shooting and hunting. Animal names coupled with colours, such as ''White Hart'' and ''Red Lion'', are often heraldic. A white hart featured as a badge of King Richard II, while a red lion was a badge of John of Gaunt and the Dukes of Bedford amongst others and a blue boar of the Earls of Oxford. Exceptions do exist, however, along with less obvious examples of the form - a combination of both features being ''Cross Foxes'' (a name most commonly found in rural Wales), referring to a darker-furred breed of the common Red Fox whose pelts were considered more valuable and sometimes worn as a sign of status.

* Bald Faced Stag Inn, Finchley. An inn notorious as frequented by murderers in the past.
* Barking Dogs, Hoxton (closed). (Also various Barking Dog pubs). Named after the canine burglar deterrents.
* Bear Inn, Reading.
* Black Bear, Walsoken : actually had a black bear (stuffed) at the entrance to the premises years ago.
* Black Birds, Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. Named after the bird.
* Black Horse, Chester-le-Street : some may be named in memory of a black horse ridden by Dick Turpin, however many including this one predate the event.
* Bull Inn, Stamford : the town was the last in England to practice bull-running.
* Bustard Inn, South Rauceby.(closed). After the bird of that name, once numerous.
* Chameleon, Wisbech (now closed).
* Crane, Cambridge. After the bird of that name, once numerous in The Fens. Crane is one of the nicknames for the inhabitants.
* Dog, Westhall, Suffolk.
* Dolphin, Wisbech, Isle of Ely (now closed) : dolphins were caught and presented to the lord of the manor in earlier times; however it may just be a nautical reference to the port, or a corruption of "Dauphin" in honour of military victories over Napoleon in France (see later section).
* Dove, Ipswich : a biblical source.
* Four Swans, Butchers Market, Cambridge (closed down).
* Greyfriars Bobby, Scotland. Named after a local dog of popular legend.
* Heathcock Tavern, Strand : named after a game bird.
* Lobster, Sheringham. Patronised by the lifeboat crew who formed the Shanty Men.
* Old Ram, Tivetshall St. Mary.
* Olde Fighting Cocks, St. Albans. Named for the cocks used in fights and for gambling.
* Ostrich Inn, Castle Acre. Named after the flightless bird.
* Packhorse and Pig, Aldergate Street, London
* Pickerel Inn, Cambridge : named after young pike (Esox lucius).
* Py'd Bull, Lincoln (closed). This pub was advertised as convenient for drovers in the 18th century. The Pied Bull in Chester in reputed to be the oldest licensed house in the city and dates back to 1155.
* Pyewipe Inn, Lincoln. Pyewipe is the Lincolnshire dialect name for the lapwing.
* Red-Hart Inn, Petty Cury, Cambridge (closed). Claimed to have the only cockpit in the town.
* Rein Deer, Lincoln (closed).
* Roebuck Inn, Chesterton. Named after the male of the species Capreolus capreolus.
* String of Horses, Spalding (closed).
* Swan and Falcon Inn, Gloucester (closed).
* Ugly Bug, Colton.

Branding

The Manners family chose blue as their colour and when they purchased pubs and inns in Grantham their names were soon to include the prefix Blue, leading to the Bell, Cow, Dog, Fox, Horse, Lion, Man, Pig, Ram and Sheep being given this hue.
Some pub chains in the UK adopt the same or similar names for many pubs as a means of brand expression. The principal examples of this are "The Moon Under Water", commonly used by the JD Wetherspoon chain (and inspired by George Orwell's 1946 essay in the ''Evening Standard'', "The Moon Under Water"), and the "Tap and Spile" brand name used by the now defunct Century Inns chain. The "Slug and Lettuce" is another example of a chain of food-based pubs with a prominent brand; founder Hugh Corbett had owned a small number of pubs, to which he gave humorous or nonsensical names, with the effect of differentiating them from competitors.

Found objects

Before painted inn signs became commonplace, medieval publicans often identified their establishments by hanging or standing a distinctive object outside the pub. A fictional example of this otherwise real-life practice can be found in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books, where the pub in Ankh Morpork starts off as The Drum, becomes The Broken Drum after a bar fight damages it and then in later books The Mended Drum. This tradition dates back to Roman times, when vine leaves were hung outside tabernae to show where wine was sold.

* Boot Inn, Whittlesea
* Boot and Slipper, Amersham.
* Copper Kettle
* Crooked Billet, Portsmouth St, London (a bent branch from a tree)

Sometimes the object was coloured, such as ''Blue Post'' or ''Blue Door''.

Heraldry

The ubiquity of heraldic pub names shows how important heraldry has been in the naming of pubs. The simpler symbols of the heraldic badges of royalty or local nobility give rise to many of the most common pub names. Five common colours (heraldic tinctures) are gules (red); sable (black); azure (blue); vert (green); and purpure (purple). The metals are or (gold) and argent (silver), although in practice they are usually depicted as yellow and white.

Items appearing in coats of arms

* Antlers: although this is often seen as a derivation of Richard II's white hart emblem, it may also be an echo of a pagan figure, Herne the Hunter.
* Bear and Ragged Staff: a badge of the earls of Warwick. Refers to bear baiting (see ''Dog and Bear'' in the Sports section).
* Black Griffin: a pub in Lisvane, Cardiff, named after the coat of arms carried by the lords of the manor.
* Old Black Lion is the name of an ancient pub opposite the railway station in Northampton.
* Blue Boar, the name of many pubs in Westminster, Norwich, Billericay, Maldon, Witney and elsewhere, from the badge of the Earls of Oxford.
* Castle: sometimes originally referred to the Coat of Arms of Castile in Spain, and meant that Spanish wines were available within.
* Checkers or Chequer(s), March, Isle of Ely and many other sites : sometimes derived from the coat of arms of a local landowner (see Chequy), this name and sign originated in ancient Rome when a chequer board indicated that a bar also provided banking services. The checked board was used as an aid to counting and is the origin of the word ''exchequer''. The last pub to use the older, now American spelling of ''checker'' was in Baldock, Hertfordshire, but this closed circa 1990; all pubs now use the modern "q" spelling (but see also Chequers, in Plants and horticulture below).
* Cross Keys, Wisbech, derived from the town's coat of arms and the town's church of SS. Peter & Paul.
* Eagle and Child, Oxford, derived from the arms of the Earls of Derby, was a meeting place of the Inklings.
* Elephant and Castle: apocryphally a corruption of the words "Infanta of Castile", more probably taken from the crest of the Cutlers' Company.
* Lamb and Flag: a common religious symbol, with the Agnus Dei holding the red cross flag that represented the Resurrection of Christ earlier than it was the flag of England. This was the device of the Middle Temple, a legal society in London, which was given a charter in 1608 to occupy lands formerly owned by the Knights Templar. It is one of the four Inns of Court, still training barristers today. The Lamb & Flag (Oxford) is one of many pubs with this name.
* Olde Man and Scythe, Bolton, taken from the crest of the Pilkington family.
* Ostrich feathers have been used as a royal badge since the time of Edward III, particularly the ''Three Feathers'' badge of the Prince of Wales.
* Rampant Horse (earlier Ramping Horse), Norwich : horses are popular pub signs and names.
* Red Dragon of Cadwaladr: the symbol of Wales, and a heraldic badge of Henry VII and many other royal figures.
* Red Lion is the name of over 600 pubs. It thus can stand for an archetypal British pub. The lion is one of the most common charges in coats of arms, second only to the cross, and thus the Red Lion as a pub sign probably has multiple origins: in the arms or crest of a local landowner, now perhaps forgotten; as a personal badge of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster; or in the royal arms of Scotland, conjoined to the arms of England after the Stuart succession in 1603.
* Rising Sun: symbol of the east and of optimism. The Sun in Splendour was also a livery badge of Edward IV
* Silver Lion, Lilley, Hertfordshire: from the arms of the Sowerby family.
* Spread Eagle: from the heraldic depiction of an eagle 'displayed'; probably derived from the arms of Germany, indicating that German wines were available within.
* Swan, Wisbech a badge of many Lancastrian figures—see Dunstable Swan Jewel
* Talbot or Talbot Arms refers to an actual breed of hunting dog, now extinct, which is also a heraldic hound, and is the badge of the Talbot family, Earls of Shrewsbury. Old Talbot, Wisbech (now closed)
* Unicorn
* White Bear
* White Hart: the livery badge of King Richard II of England. It became so popular as an inn sign in his reign that it was adopted by many later inns and taverns.
* White Horse: the sign of the House of Hanover, adopted by many eighteenth-century inns to demonstrate loyalty to the new Royal dynasty. A white horse is also the emblem of the County of Kent. The name can also refer to the chalk horses carved into hillsides.
* White lion: the livery badge of the Duke of Norfolk

Livery companies

Names starting with the word "Three" are often based on the arms of a London Livery company or trade guild :
* Three Arrows: The Worshipful Company of Bowyers
* Three Bucks: The Worshipful Company of Leathersellers
* Three Castles: The Worshipful Company of Masons
* Three Compasses: The Worshipful Company of Carpenters
* Three Crowns: The Worshipful Company of Drapers, although it can also refer to the Magi, the Diocese of Ely or the three crowns of East Anglia.
* Three Cups: The Worshipful Company of Salters
* Three Fishes: The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
* Three Goats' Heads: The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers
* Three Hammers: The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths
* Three Horseshoes: The Worshipful Company of Farriers
* Three Tuns: The Brewers and the Worshipful Company of Vintners
* Three Wheatsheafs: The Worshipful Company of Bakers

Landowners

Many coats of arms appear as pub signs, usually honouring a local landowner.
* Duke of Bedford, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now closed) named for the person draining the fens.
* Hardwicke Arms, Wisbech (now closed Down) - the Earl of Hardwicke KG MP being Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum.
* Huntingtower Arms, Grantham : named after William Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower.
* Manners Arms, Grantham : also named after William Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower (Sir William Manners, Baronet).
* Osborne, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now closed) named for the residence of a local family.
* Percy Arms, Otterburn, Northumberland, commemorates the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, where Sir Henry Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, led the English army. There are other pubs with the same or similar names at various locations in the North East of England.
* Prince Albert, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now closed) named for the prince consort.
* Queen Victoria, Wisbech, Isle of Ely : named for the monarch.
* Royal Standard, Wisbech, Isle of Ely : named for royal family.
* Stanley Arms, Huyton, near Liverpool: after Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby.
* Marshland Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now closed) named for a nearby council.
* Melbourne Arms, Duston, Northampton: after former local landowner Lord Melbourne
* Tollemache, Grantham : named after Frederick Tollemache
* Wisbech Arms, Wisbech: (now closed) named for the local borough.

Occupations

:''See also Trades, tools and products below''
Some "Arms" signs refer to working occupations. These may show people undertaking such work or the arms of the appropriate London livery company. This class of name may be only just a name but there are stories behind some of them. An "arms" name, too, can derive from a local authority.

* Artillery Arms Bunhill Row, London EC1: situated next door to the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company, the British Army's oldest regiment.
* Bedford Arms, Bedford Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, shows the arms of the town of Bedford. The more usual derivation is for the Duke of Bedford whose seat is at the nearby Woburn Abbey.
* Blacksmith's Arms, (Wisbech) with the pun of the actual blacksmiths arms and their strength.
* Bricklayer's Arms, e.g., Hitchin, Hertfordshire: The first landlord, William Huckle, who opened this pub in 1846, was a bricklayer by trade.
* Brewers Arms, Wisbech. The town had and has several breweries.
* Builders Arms: Kensington Court Place, London
* Carpenters Arms - A series of pubs, related to the occupation or more likely to the guild of carpenters.
* Cooper's Arms, Little Old Bailey - Worshipful Company of Coopers.
* Drover's Inn, Loch Lomond, Scotland. Named after the cattle drivers. Also an example in Caerleon, near Newport, Wales.
* Fisherman's Arms, Birgham near Coldstream
* Foundryman's Arms Northampton
* Glazier's Arms, Stamford (closed).
* The Gravel Diggers, Cottenham (closed).
* Jolly Gardeners, Hertford (closed).
* Lathrenders' Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely. Nearby were lathe makers.
* Mason's Arms, Wisbech.
* Mechanics Arms (now renamed the Old Neighbourhood), near Stroud, Gloucestershire. In this context a mechanic was a bonesetter. Another was (now closed) in Stamford, Lincs
* Millers Arms, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Robert Taylor, the first publican in 1861, was a miller by trade.
* Plumbers Arms (Lower Belgrave Street, London SW1).
* Porters Arms, (Wisbech), Isle of Ely.
* Printers Arms, (Wisbech )owned by a local newspaper owner.
* Pyrotechnists' Arms, a local gunpowder maker.
* Ratcatchers, Cawston, Norfolk.
* Recruiting Sergeant, Newton Harcourt
* Ropers' Arms, Wisbech, Isle of Ely. Now closed. At least two rope walks in the town.
* Ship Carpenters' Arms, Wisbech named for local shipbuilders trades.
* Shipwrights' Arms, Wisbech named for the men employed in the local shipbuilders.
* Spinners' Arms, Hindley Green, Wigan.
* Waterman's Arms
* Wire Workers' Arms, St. Neots, Hunts.

Historic events

* Abdication, in Arnold : the reign and abdication of Edward VIII.
* Alma: commemorating the Battle of the Alma which took place in 1854, during the Crimean War.
* Bhurtpore Inn, Aston, near Nantwich, Cheshire: commemorating the Siege of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, 1826. The Inn is on land formerly part of the estates of Lord Combermere, commander of British forces during the siege.

* Dolphin: often anglicised from the French '' Dauphin'', commemorating battles in which England defeated France. These include "The Dolphin" in Wellington, Somerset which was named in honour of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo.
* Festival Inn: name of a pub in Poplar, London, built at the time of the Festival of Britain in 1951.
* Hand and Shears: this famous City of London pub got its name owing to Bartholomew Fair. Tailors would gather in the pub the night before the fair and wave their shears announcing that the fair should begin.
* Magna Charta in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, has its name spelled differently from the historic document after which it is named.
* Man on the Moon, Northfield, Birmingham: originally called ''The Man in the Moon'' and renamed on the day of the first moon landing in 1969.
* Battle of Minden, Portsmouth (closed): named after this historic military engagement.
* Rose and Crown: Edward III used a golden rose as a personal badge, and two of his sons adapted it by changing the colour: John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, used a red rose, and Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, used a white rose. The dynastic conflicts between their descendants are collectively called the Wars of the Roses. In 1485 Henry Tudor, a descendant of Lancaster, defeated Richard III of the York dynasty and married Richard's niece Elizabeth of York. Since then the combined red-and-white Tudor rose, often crowned, has been a symbol of the monarchy of England.

* Royal Oak: After the Battle of Worcester (1651) in the English Civil War, the defeated Prince Charles escaped the scene with the Roundheads on his tail. He managed to reach Bishops Wood in Staffordshire, where he found an oak tree (now known as the Boscobel Oak near Boscobel House). He climbed the tree and hid in it for a day while his obviously short-sighted pursuers strolled around under the tree looking for him. The hunters gave up, Prince Charles came down and escaped to France (the Escape of Charles II). He became Charles II on the Restoration of the Monarchy. To celebrate this good fortune, 29 May (Charles' birthday) was declared Royal Oak Day and the pub name remembers this. The Royal Naval ship HMS Royal Oak gets its name from the same source. Early ships were built of the heartwood of oak.


* Saracen's Head and Turk's Head: Saracens and Turks were among the enemies faced by Crusaders. This is also a reference to the Barbary pirates that raided the coasts from the Crusades until the early 19th century.
* Trafalgar: commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar. There are many pubs called the Nelson, and an Emma Hamilton pub in Wimbledon Chase where Nelson lived with her. A famous pub is the Trafalgar Tavern, part of the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage site at Greenwich.
* Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Nottingham, one of the claimants to the title of oldest pub in Britain, said to have been a stopping-off place for the Crusaders on the way to the Holy Land. "Trip" here has the old meaning of a stop, not the modern journey. The pub was once called the ''Pilgrim'', which is probably the real story behind the name. The pub has the date 1189 painted on its masonry, which is the year King Richard I ascended to the throne. Like many elderly pubs, the Trip carries "Ye" before its name, with an E on the end of "old" another "olde worlde" affectation.

Literature

Names from books

* Cat and Custard Pot in Shipton Moyne is said to originate from the book ''Handley Cross or Mr Jorrocks's Hunt'' by R. S. Surtees.
* Jabez Clegg in Manchester, now closed, was named after the title character in Isabella Banks' novel '' The Manchester Man''.
* Hobbit in Southampton, named after J. R. R. Tolkien's creation and threatened with legal action by US movie lawyers, because of this.
* Lass O' Gowrie in Manchester, named after the poem by Carolina Nairne.
* Moon and Sixpence pubs in Portland, Oregon; Whitby, North Yorkshire; Harrow, Middlesex; and Soho, London are named after Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name.
* Moon Under Water, inspired by George Orwell's essay describing his perfect pub
* Muppet Inn, Wisbech, Isle of Ely: (now the Globe) named for the TV series, books and comics.
* Paul Pry Inn, Peterborough. Named after the main character in the play of that name.
* Peveril of the Peak, in Manchester, commemorates a stagecoach that once connected Manchester and London, but the pub itself claims it is named for the novel by Sir Walter Scott.
* Sherlock Holmes in Charing Cross, London contains a reproduction of the great detective's study.
* Three Pigeons, Norwich and other locations. Used in a number of books and plays e.g. Charles Dickens' ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1864–65).
* Herbert Wells in Woking, a town that was fictionally destroyed by Martian invaders in H. G. Wells

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