Place Names and their meaning - Interactive Maps
Viking, Saxon, Norman? What do they mean?
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MAP 1 Durham City, Hartlepool and South East Durham
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Durham City, Hartlepool and South East Durham The place names in this area of County Durham are largely Anglo-Saxon in origin although Viking settlement is more noticeable towards the south and east. The Viking place names on the map can be associated with the Viking wappentake of Sadberge. The northern side of the map lay outside normal Viking influence although it is perhaps significant that the name of Durham City combines the Anglo-Saxon 'Du'n (hill) with the Viking 'Holm' (island/river loop). The name was later Anglicised from Dunholm to Durham due to the influence of the Latin name, Dunelm and the Norman name, Duresme. Most of the Viking place names within the map still show some Anglo-Saxon influence and in this respect the area is quite different to the area immediately to the south of the River Tees where there are many names of purely Viking origin. By comparison if we move north towards the River Tyne, there are very few place names showing Viking influence. Back to top of page
MAP 2 Tees Vale - Darlington, Middlesbrough and South Durham
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The Tees Vale - Darlington, Middlesbrough and South Durham It is clear from this map that most of the Viking place names are in the southern half of the area and are clustered around the River Tees. The river itself appears in the south eatsern and south western portion of the map and most of the pure Viking place names (shown in red) are situated on the south side of the Tees. This is perhaps not surprising because the Viking kingdom of York (Jorvik) lay south of the Tees while most of the territory north of this river (Northumberland and Durham) continued to be part of the Anglo-Saxon Earldom of Northumbria. However a significant portion of south Durham known as the Wappentake of Sadberge came under Viking influence and was centred on the flat topped hill at Sadberge which can be seen clearly on the map. Many of the mixed Viking and Anglo-Saxon place names (in purple) are associated with the Sadberge district. Back to top of page
MAP3- Gateshead, Sunderland and Chester-le-Street
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Gateshead, Sunderland and Chester-le-Street Compared with areas slightly further south, this is largely an area of Anglo-Saxon place names. Even the authenticity of the one pure Viking place name on the map (Follingsby) is disputed. This area continued to be part of the Anglo-Saxon Earldom of Northumbria after the Viking settlement in Yorkshire, Cumbria and South Durham and much of the area was strongly associated with the Anglo-Saxon Bishops of Durham and their predecessors the Bishops of Chester-le-Street. In Viking times the area was ruled by Anglo-Saxon Earls based at Bamburgh who had strong links to the Bishops of Durham. The apparently strong Norman influence in the area is largely a means of identification. The Normans, probably for reasons of taxation wanted to carefully identify similar place names and often suffixed them with -le- along with an identifying feature. Thus Houghton-le-Spring was probably named by the Norman Bishops of Durham to avoid confusion with Hetton-le-Hole, Hetton-le-Hill, Haughton-le-Skerne and so on. Chester-le-Street was also named to distinguish it from numnerous Chesters found throughout the country including perhaps Binchester near Bishop Auckland. Back to top of page
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Teesmouth and the Cleveland Coast The area has one of the highest incidences of Viking parish names in the country and many of the place names in the area are pure Viking in origin with a notable shortage of Anglo-Saxon place names. The names are both Norwegian and Danish in origin, Danes probably attracted to the lowland vale of the Tees and Norwegians to the upland areas. Some of the Norwegian place names are believed to have been settled directly from Scandinavia rather than from settlers originating from the Norwegian colony in Dublin, Ireland as is often the case with Norwegian place names in Cumbria and the north west. Except for the area in the far north western corner of the map north of the River Tees, all of the area lay within the Viking Kingdom of York (Jorvik). One of the most noticable names in the area is that given to the prominent peak called Roseberry Topping. The first part of the name derives from a name meaning Odin's Hill and the second part is from the Danish Toppen meaning hill. It may have been a cult centre associated with the Viking god Odin. Back to top of page
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Weardale Largely an area of Anglo-Saxon place names with some Viking settlements in the south west probably associated with the neighbouring Viking settlements in Teesdale. Notably the Anglo-Saxon word Burn is used for streams in this area except in the south west where the Viking word Beck is used as it is in Teesdale. One of the starnagest names in the whole area is that given to the most prominent town - Bishop Auckland. Bishop is a reference to the Bishop of Durham's palace or castle which is situated here but the name Auckland seems to have a Celtic origin Alclet (Cliff of the Clyde). It is thought to be connected with the Celtic kingdom of Strathclyde (which once included Cumbria). The river at Bishop Auckland has a Viking name Gaunless (useless) this is quite unusual in the North East where most river names are Celtic. The earlier Celtic name is not known by Clyde would seem to be a possible candidate as most Celtic river names occur more than once over wide areas. It may be that the limits of the kingdom of Strathclyde once stretched this far. The name has then been modified to mean Oak Land (Auckland) and there are some that do not accept the Celtic derivation, although early spellings seem to point to this. Back to top of page
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Teesdale An area of significant Viking settlement with much of the area once lying in the Viking Kingdom of Jorvik (south of the Tees) or the Viking Wappentake of Sadberge (north of the Tees). There was also strong influence from the Norwegian and Irish Norwegian settlements in Cumbria just to the west. The predominance of Viking place names in the Teesdale area is remarkable when compared to the neighbouring valley of Weardale just to the north where there are fewer Viking names. The Viking influence in Teesdale is comparable to the neighbouring Yorkshire dales immediately to the south. Back to top of page
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Derwentside (County Durham and Northumberland Border) - The River Derwent forms the border between the counties of Northumberland and Durham but in Anglo-Saxon times both areas were in the Kingdom of Northumbria. The place names in this area are largely Anglo-Saxon in origin and the Viking place names I have marked on this map should be treated with caution. Two of the Viking places names shown on the map (Airy Holm and Scales Cross) are topographical features rather than place names and their names suggest Viking influence from Cumbria to the west. However, both refer to some kind of shelter and it is possible that the words have been merely imported into the area rather than indicating specific Viking settlements. I should point out that I have not found any historical place name sources refering to these two names and the assumprtion that they are Viking is mine. The same can be said for the name Rowland's Gill which I have associated with a Viking word for Roe Wood. Gill is unquestionably Viking, but again is a topographical name. There is also some doubt over the Viking origin of the place name Ornsby Hill, as a man by the name of Orm is known to have owned land here in this area in the 12th century long after the age of Viking settlement. Ornsby may have been named after him rather than an earlier Viking settler. Another possible Viking name not shown on the map is Tantobie near Tanfield, but no possible origin of theis name has been suggested. Back to top of page
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