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After landing in Britain in the 5th Century, Anglo-Saxons began to push further and further inland. This led to the development of many Anglo-Saxon place names that followed a number of common naming traditions. One of these traditions was to take on the name of the most important person living in the settlement, which would be paired with the common suffix ‘ingas’ (followers of) or similar. For example, the followers of Haesta settled in ‘Haestingas’, which is now known as Hastings . As well as ingas, another common suffix was ‘ham’, which meant homestead or settlement. This would be added to a current name to create the new place name. Examples include Billingham, the settlement of the people of Billa, and Nottingham, the settlement of the people of Snot (which lost its S in modern years). Place names were also given by the Anglo-Saxons to Woking, Wokingham and Wokefield. All of these names were dedicated to a man known as Wocc, and meant ‘Wocc’s people’, ‘the settlement of the people of Wocc’ and ‘Wocc’s open land’, respectively.
Another large influence on naming in Anglo-Saxon times was religion. There were some settlements, for example, that were named in honour of gods. For instance, Wednesbury was named after Woden, Tysoe was named after Tiw and Thursday was named after Thunor. Similarly, some were given named after the supernatural, such as Shuckburgh (or ‘demon’s hill’) and Pook’s Hill (or ‘hill haunted by a goblin’). Due to their widespread colonisation of Britain, the Anglo-Saxons have had a huge influence on place names across the country. In fact, many of the country’s best known towns and cities were named by them:
- Hereford means ‘army ford’ as the river cross was large enough to manage an army.
- Stafford means ‘ford by a landing place’.
- Oxford means ‘ford for Oxen’.
- Bedford means ‘Beda’s ford’.
- Hertford means ‘stag ford’.
- Buckingham means ‘ground by a river that belongs to Bucca’s people’.
- Cambridge was developed from ‘Grantacaestir’ and ‘Granebrycg’, which means ‘bridge over the River Granta’.
- Warwick means ‘premises of the dweller by the weir’.
The suffix ‘wic’, seen above in Warwick, was a common suffix often used after directions. This is the case in Northwich, Southwick, Westwick and Eastwick. However, it was also used in combination with prefixes that referred to trees, such as in Hazelwick and Ashwick. It could also be used with farms, for example in Woolwich, Saltwick and Butterwick. ‘Worth’ was another common suffix among the Saxons, and meant enclosure. Some of the towns that use this suffix have clear names, such as Littleworth and Highworth, but some are more obscure:
- Hinxworth means ‘horse enclosure’
- Turnworth means ‘enclosure by the thorn tree’
- Lindworth means ‘enclosure by the lime trees’
‘Ton’, ‘tun’ and ‘ham’ are also common in Saxon naming. Ton and tun means enclosure, farmstead or village, and Tonbridge in Kent is one of the only areas where it is used as a prefix. There are many places where it is used as a suffix with a direction, such as Sutton and Weston. However, it is also used to highlight features, including Brockton and Brotton, which reference local brooks. Ham and ton are regularly combined in Anglo-Saxon names, and Northampton and Littehampton are prominent examples of this. Additionally, the Anglo-Saxons used tree names in conjunction with ‘ley’, which means wood or clearing. Examples include Oakley, Ashley, Thornley and Willey. See also: Norman Place Names in England Norman Place Names
Viking Place Names The Origin of Place Names The History of County Names
MLA Citation/Reference
"Anglo-Saxon Place Names". HistoryLearning.com. 2024. Web.
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Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms — Place Names (Years 3-4)
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This activity aims to challenge children to recognise Anglo-Saxon place names on a map. They will be given a list of six common Anglo-Saxon suffixes and must use a political map to find more examples of each.
Example answers are provided, although the list is not exhaustive.
- Key Stage: Key Stage 2
- Subject: History
- Topic: Anglo-Saxons
- Topic Group: Settlers & Invaders in Britain
- Year(s): Years 3-4
- Media Type: PDF
- Resource Type: Worksheet
- Last Updated: 24/10/2024
- Resource Code: H2WAT268
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Anglo-Saxon kingdoms map
Subject: History
Age range: 7-11
Resource type: Worksheet/Activity
Last updated
16 October 2024
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A map-based activity to help develop knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England. There is an information power point with a map showing the Heptarchy -the -seven main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and their approximate borders: Anglo-Saxon East Anglia Essex Heptarchy Kent Mercia Northumbria Picts Saxons Strathclyde Sussex Wessex
The activity is to complete an outline version of the information map. This comes in two different versions: One has the locations of the kingdoms but is otherwise blank for the students to write in the names. The second has the first letter of the kingdom as a support. Students can also colour in the kingdoms and non-Anglo-Saxon areas with a key provided. As there were other kingdoms (especially at different times) and borders moved over time there is scope for an additional challenge of creating an alternative map. As well as a class-based activity this is suited for homework or printed out for ‘school at home’.
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Anglo-Saxons name for towns was burh. The word 'burh' still appears in place names in Britain - Peterborough and Scarborough are two examples. Names that tell the tribes. The first Anglo Saxon Villages were often named after the Chieftain (Leader of the village).
The Anglo-Saxons took control of most of Britain, although they never conquered Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. They settle in England in places near to rivers or the sea, which could be easily reached by boat. One of the places they settled in was Tonbridge, in Kent.
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After landing in Britain in the 5th Century, Anglo-Saxons began to push further and further inland. This led to the development of many Anglo-Saxon place names that followed a number of common naming traditions.
This activity aims to challenge children to recognise Anglo-Saxon place names on a map. They will be given a list of six common Anglo-Saxon suffixes and must use a political map to find more examples of each. Example answers are provided, although the list is not exhaustive.
Primary Homework Help Anglo Saxons Place Names - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free.
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In this lesson children have the opportunity to learn about how many British place names are derived from Anglo Saxon words. They match up place names to their meanings and label maps of Britain to show the location of a variety of places.
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms map. A map-based activity to help develop knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England. The activity is to complete an outline version of the information map. This comes in two different versions: One has the locations of the kingdoms but is otherwise blank for the students to write in the names. The second has the first letter of the ...
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