Cumbrian toponymy refers to the study of place names in Cumbria, a county in northwest England, and as a result of the spread of the ancient Cumbric language, further parts of northern England and the Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Cumbria is near the centrepoint of the British Isles. It has been inhabited since Upper Paleolithic, and various ethnic groups have left their linguistic marks since the Iron Age.
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, plus entries for Kendal, Cockermouth and Penrith, Cumbria. The five much earlier volumes of the English Place-Name Society cover the whole of the former counties of Cumberland, and Westmorland. Ekwall covers Lancashire, 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, 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 developed into a separate strain called Cumbric. 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 elementsBased 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 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.
Surviving place names have been taken to show that the Anglo-Saxons stayed out of the mountainous central region and remained in the lowlands,Armstrong, A. M., Mawer, A., Stenton, F. M. and Dickens, B. (1952) The Place-Names of Cumberland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 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 .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 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. Placenames with thwaite, which are commonplace in Cumbria, are also abundant in the southern counties of Hordaland, Rogaland, Agder and Telemark in Norway 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 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 dalr - 'valley' → dale fors - 'waterfall' → force/foss fjall - 'mountain' (usually a large, flat mountain) → fell gil - 'ravine' → gill, ghyll haugr - 'hill' → howe holmr - 'island' → holme intaka - 'intake' 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 in Northumbria 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 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 Isle, Maryport(formerly Ellenfoot, Longtown, Sprinkling Tarn)
Examples
Abbreviations used in the following descriptions OE Old English ON Old Norse Da Danish Br Brythonic Celtic Go Goidelic Celtic Ir Irish Sc Scottish 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 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 - 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 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 '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 'Wōden's pool' Waver 'restless' from OE wæfre (cf wave) Winster 'the left-hand river' from ON vinstri á
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 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 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 '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; or from the Norse god Ullr 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' or "Devil's Peak" from Cumbric *blein *cadeir or *blein *cuthrol Cat Bells 'den of the wild cat' from OE catt and ME belde