Cumbrian toponymy refers to the study of place names in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, a county in northwest England, and as a result of the spread of the ancient

Cumbric language Cumbric is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was clo ...

, further parts of

northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

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

Cumbria is near the centrepoint of the British Isles. It has been inhabited since

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 ...

, and various ethnic groups have left their linguistic marks since the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, plus entries for

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Cumberland unitary authority area of Cumbria, England. The name refers to the town's position by the confluence of the River Cocker into the River Derwent. At the 2021 census, the built u ...

and

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

. The five much earlier volumes of the English Place-Name Society cover the whole of the former counties of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. Ekwall covers

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, 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 (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages. It is a form of Insular Cel ...

, which is the ancestor of modern Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

developed into a separate strain called

Cumbric Cumbric is an extinct Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North", in Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands. It was closely related to Old Welsh and the ot ...

. 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 and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

and around the coastal plains of the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

. ''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/ or ; 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 , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

and

Bernicia 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 approximately equivalent to the modern English cou ...

(later

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

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

and traversing Stainmore Pass 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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Valley,

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Furness (traditionally "Lancashire-over-the-Sands" (and in the ceremonial county of Cumbria), England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, a ...

and

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria, England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, Historic counties of England, historically an exclave of Lancashire. On 1 April 2023 it became part of the new unitary author ...

, 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 ('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 bardic sources, ...

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

Old English Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

.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 na ...

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

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

, 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 Munici ...

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, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

and

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

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), known mononymously as Beck, 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 mus ...

*''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 of M ...

*''gil'' - 'ravine' →

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, 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 r ...

, ghyll *''haugr'' - 'hill' → howe *''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 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, and St. Sanctan. The influence of the early

Celtic Church Celtic Christianity is a form of Christianity that was common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages. The term Celtic Church is deprecated by many historians as it implies a unified and identifiab ...

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 pe ...

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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(formerly Ellenfoot, Longtown, Sprinkling Tarn'')

Examples

Abbreviations used in the following descriptions

Da Danish Br Brythonic Celtic Go Goidelic Celtic Ir Irish Sc

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

AN Anglo-Norman

Areas

*Allerdale 'valley of River Ellen' *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 Welsh ''Cymru'', from a Brittonic ''*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'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...

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 *Westmorland 'land of the people living west of the moors' from OE ''west mōr inga land''.

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 area 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 ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Greta'' (2018 film), a thriller film directed by Neil Jordan * ''Greta'' (2020 film), a documentary film about activist Greta Thunberg Music * Greta (band), hard rock band * Greta (song), ...

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

probably from Br ''*cunetio'' meaning 'sacred one' * Leven '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'') * 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) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

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

wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...

'') *

Winster Winster is a village in the English Derbyshire Dales about from Matlock, Derbyshire, 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 N ...

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

Lakes

Bassenthwaite Lake Bassenthwaite Lake is a body of water in the Lake District in North West England, near the town of Keswick. It has an area of , making the fourth largest of the lakes in the region. The lake has a length of approximately long and maximum wid ...

'Bastun's clearing' from an OE personal name ''Beabstan'', or an NF nickname ''Bastun'' and ON ''þveit'' * Brothers Water 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. It has a length of approximately and a maximum width of , an area of , a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a ...

'lake by dairy pastures' from OE ''butere mere'' * Coniston Water named after the village, which means 'king's farmstead from ON ''konigs tun'' * Crummock Water '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 a lake in the Lake District in North West England, immediately south of Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick. It is in the unitary authority of Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland within the ceremonial county of ...

named after the River Derwent * Devoke Water 'little dark one' from a Br word ''*dubaco'' * Elter Water 'swan lake' from ON ''eltr vatn'' * Ennerdale Water named after the valley in which it is situated * Grasmere 'lake in pasture' or 'grassy lake' from OE ''græs mere'' * Haweswater '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 w ...

'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. T ...

'leafy lake' from ON ''lauf saer'', ON ''vatn'' or OE ''wæter'' was added later * Rydal Water named after the valley of Rydal; formerly called Routhmere, linking the lake with the River Rothay * Tarn Hows probably 'hill tarn' from ON ''tjórn haugr'' *

Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district 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 numbe ...

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

Ullswater Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England and part of the Lake District National Park. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . I ...

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

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

'' *

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 (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

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

''*blein *cadeir'' or ''*blein *cuthrol'' *

Cat Bells Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a height of and is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwentwater within of the busy tourist town of Keswick. ...

'den of the wild cat' from OE ''catt'' and ME ''belde'' * Catstye Cam 'ridge with wild cat's path' from ON ''katts stigr kambr'' or OE ''catt stig camb'' * Causey Pike 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 T ...

'' * Coniston Old Man named after the town at its foot, the Old Man comes from Br ''maen'' meaning stone * Dollywaggon Pike 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 #Names, 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 a ...

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 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 Saint Sunday is the local name for

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

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

Skiddaw Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in England. Its summit is traditionally considered to be the List of Wainwrights, fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also ...

- 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, Bristo ...

suggests that "it is possible that a Cumbric solution is to be sought." * Stainmore '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 (sometimes Lugos or Lug) is a Celtic god whose worship is attested in the epigraphic record. No depictions of the god are known. Lugus perhaps also appears in Ancient Rome, Roman sources and medieval Insular Celts, Insular mythology. Va ...

' 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 ' :: originally named , 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 ' and ON ' :: Foulney is now a bird sanctuary and site of special scientific interest *Ladyholme, Windermere 'island of Our Lady'. ME, using ON ' ::

St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

'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 ' meaning 'fodder island', and the castle was called the 'Pile eelof Fotherey'. *Rampsholme, Derwentwater probably 'Hrafn's island' from ON ' or 'wild garlic island' with the OE '. *Roa Island, Morecambe Bay 'Red Island' from ON ' :: the area is rich in red haematite *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 ' :: 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 ' 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 ''wikt:toponym, 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 ...

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