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Concept
Toponymy of England
Résumé
The toponymy of England derives from a variety of linguistic origins. Many English toponyms have been corrupted and broken down over the years, due to language changes which have caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases, words used in these place-names are derived from languages that are extinct, and of which there are no known definitions. Place-names may also be compounds composed of elements derived from two or more languages from different periods. The majority of the toponyms predate the radical changes in the English language triggered by the Norman Conquest, and some Celtic names even predate the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the first millennium AD.
The place-names of England, as in most other regions, typically have meanings which were significant to the settlers of a locality (though these were not necessarily the first settlers). Sometimes these meanings have remained clear to speakers of modern English (for instance Newcastle and Sevenoaks); more often, however, elucidating them requires the study of older languages. As the names lost their original meanings either due to the introduction of a new language or linguistic drift, they gradually changed, or were appended with newer elements. An example is Breedon on the Hill in Leicestershire, whose name seems to have grown by the accretion of elements stressing the hill in the language currently spoken.
The place-names of England have diverse origins, largely due to historical changes in language and culture. These affected different regions at different times and to different extents. The exact nature of these linguistic/cultural changes is often controversial, but the general consensus is as follows.
The British Isles were inhabited during the Stone and Bronze Ages by peoples whose languages are unknown. During the Iron Age, the population of Great Britain shared a culture with the Celtic peoples inhabiting western Europe. Land use patterns do not appreciably change from the Bronze Age, suggesting that the population remained in situ.
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