Cumbrian placename etymology

The county of Cumbria in the north west of England has a long and complex history of human settlement. Geographically, Cumbria is situated right between the four major countries of the British Isles. Historically, 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 an attractive area for habitation since the Upper Paleolithic, and various ethnic groups have been drawn to the area, leaving their linguistic mark since the Iron Age.

Linguistic influences

Brythonic

Since the Iron Age, the inhabitants of Cumbria would have spoken Brythonic Celtic, which is related to modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Evidence of this language is mostly visible in topological 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 developed into a separate strain called Cumbric, which included some influences from Latin picked up during the Roman occupation of Britain. 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 and around the coastal plains of the Solway Firth.

"Common Brythonic elements"
*"*blain" (Welsh "blaen") - 'summit' → blen-
*"*cair" (Welsh "caer") - 'fort'
*"*creic", "*carrek" (W. "creic, carreg") - 'rock' → crag
*"*dun" (W. "din") - 'fort'
*"*penn" (W. "pen") - 'hill', 'head'

Old English

Angles from Deira and Bernicia (later Northumbria) 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 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 Valley, Cartmel and Furness, gradually moving further north along the west coast.

As a general rule the English stayed out of the mountainous central region and remained in the lowlands, but after the Celtic kingdom of Rheged was annexed to English Northumbria sometime before 730 AD, the Celtic language of Cumbric was slowly replaced by Old English. As a result, Old English elements can be found throughout the county, but mostly in the names of towns and villages ("Keswick, Workington, Barrow-in-Furness"). 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"
*"ham" - 'home'
*"inga" - 'descendants of...'
*"mer" - 'lake' → mere
*"ton" - 'farm'
*"wic" - 'farm' (from Latin "vicus", often found near Roman roads) → wick

Old Norse

The Norse appear to have arrived in Cumbria in about 925 ADcn|date=February 2008 and left a huge impression upon the toponymy of Cumbria. Originally from Norway, it is generally accepted that they would have come here via their colonies in Iceland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, perhaps bringing with them a touch of Gaelic influence.

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 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 ("Whitehaven, Ravenglass, Silloth, Ulverston, Ambleside")

"Common Old Norse elements"
*"á" - 'river' → ay
*"bekkr" - 'stream' → beck
*"dalr" - 'valley' → dale
*"fors" - 'waterfall' → force/foss
*"fjallr" - 'mountain' (usually a large, flat mountain) → fell
*"gil" - 'ravine' → gill, ghyll
*"haugr" - 'hill' → how, howe, haw
*"holmr" - 'island' → holme
*"intaka" - 'intake' (land reclaimed from a moor or woodland, an enclosure)
*"pic" - 'peak' → pike
*"saetr" - 'shieling' → side, seat
*"tjorn" - 'small lake' → tarn
*"þveit" - 'clearing' → thwaite
*"tun" - '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" - 'village' → thorpe

Goidelic Celtic and Irish influence

There are several places throughout Cumbria which exhibit Gaelic influences. Some names contain actual Goidelic elements ("Rathmoss, Knock, Kinn, Glencoyne"), whilst others show evidence of Irish settlement in other ways ("Kirksanton, Kirkbride, Patterdale, 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 in Northumbria and Cumbria was considerable. From St. Columba (Columcille) and the founding of Iona in Scotland in the late 6th century and the onslaught of the Vikings in late 8th century, the Celtic monastic system continued to spread, despite the limitations of the Synod of Whitby in 664, which proscribed the Celtic dates for the observation of Easter. St. Oswald and his brother Oswiu, schooled in Iona and the Celtic tradition, helped to found monastic establishments such as Lindisfarne, Gilling, Tynemouth and Hartlepool after Northumbria became one of the dominant power in England in the 7th century. The Celtic Christian monasteries and schools, being monastic rather than episcopal, were most often founded by men and women living ascetic lives. Their patrons were the warlords or petty kings of the time. Intrepid monks, such as Aidan, travelled widely and though there were Anglo-Saxons among them such as St. Hilda, St. Cuthbert and Cædmon, they were trained by way of the Celtic monastic tradition. So it is no surprise to find a number of Goidelic (ie Gaelic) place names in Cumbria.

NB: the Norse element "erg", meaning 'shieling' comes from the Goidelic "airidh" and would have been picked up during the Norse occupation in Ireland ("Sizergh, Cleator")

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 after the 12th century. The Domesday Book 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 Island, Maryport, Longtown, Sprinkling Tarn")

Examples

"List of abbreviations" OE Old English ON Old Norse Da Danish Br Brythonic Celtic Go Goidelic Celtic Ir Irish Sc Scottish NF 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 Proto-Celtic "*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 estuary' from Br "mori kambo". The name was recorded in Ptolemy's Geographica c.150AD as "Morikambe", apparently referring to the Lune Estuary. It was subsequently lost then revived in the 19th century as both the name for the bay and the new Lancashire seaside resort at Poulton-le-Sands.
*Solway Firth 'Muddy ford estuary' from ON "sol vath fjórðr"
*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 Northumbria 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 uncertain. Possilby '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", 'cold'
*Esk 'water' from Br "*isca"
*Gilpin named for the Gilpin family
*Greta 'rocky river' from ON "grjót á"
*Irt possibly 'fresh' from Br "*ir"
*Kent 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"
*Lune '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 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 'Woden's pool'
*Waver 'restless' from OE "wæfre" (cf "wave")
*Winster 'the left-hand river' from ON "vinstri á"

The Lakes

*Bassenthwaite Lake '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 'lake by dairy pastures' from OE "butere mere'
*Coniston Water named after the town, 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"
*Derwent Water named after the River Derwent
*Devoke Water 'little dark one' from a word "*dubaco"
*Elterwater '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 'Eithr's lake" from an ON "Eiths vatn"
*Loweswater '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 'lake with a gap' from OE "thyrel mere"
*Ullswater uncertain. Possibly named after a Norse chief "Ulf" or a local Saxon Lord named "Ulphus"
*Wast Water 'Wasdale Water'. The name literally means 'water water' from ON "vatn" and OE "wæter"
*Windermere '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' from Br "blaen cathrach"
*Cat Bells 'den of the wild cat' from OE "catt" and ME "belde"
*Catstycam 'ridge with wild cat's path' from ON "katts stigr kambr" or OE "catt stig camb"
*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
*High Street named after the Roman road which passed along it, a literal translation of the Latin "via alta"; the summit of this hill is named
*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, though how he is connected to the mountain is unknown. Crag means 'rock' from the Br "carreg"
*Scafell Pike
*Skiddaw
*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 ON "blen haugr", both meaning 'hill' and "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' from Br "caer Lugus"
*Cockermouth 'mouth of the River Cocker'
*Dalton-in-Furness 'farm in a valley' from ON "dalr 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
*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" [also ON "vik" 'landing place' (ie 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"

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'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. ::The island was originally called Foudrey or Fotheray, possibly from ON "fouder ey" meaning 'fodder island', and the castle was called the 'Pile [Peel] 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
*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' and in the Domesday Book it is called "Houganai", 'island of Hougun' (Hougun is the name given to Furness in Domesday).

See also

*Cumbria
*Lake District
*Cumbric
*History of Cumbria
*Welsh placenames

References

* [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sw.rae/ Place Names of Lake District]