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This toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of
counties of the United Kingdom The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. The older term, '' shire'' is historically equivalent to county. By the Middle Age ...
. For
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
it includes ancient and contemporary counties.


Background

Throughout the histories of the four
countries of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Nor ...
, 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 Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
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


Northern Ireland


Scotland


Wales


References

*''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)


See also

* List of counties of the United Kingdom *
British toponymy Great Britain and Ireland have a very varied toponymy due to the different settlement patterns, political and linguistic histories. In addition to the old and modern varieties of English, Scottish and Irish Gaelic and Welsh, many other languages ...
* List of generic forms in British place names * Welsh placenames * United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names {{DEFAULTSORT:Toponymical List Of Counties Of The United Kingdom British toponymy
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
Lists of counties of the United Kingdom