When it comes to British place names, Anglo-Saxon origins tend to dominate in the south and Scandinavian languages in the North, mixed in with Old British or Celtic terms for natural features such as hills and rivers. Derbyshire still shows the influence of all three factors in the names we find today.
Often towns and villages share common endings such as -tun (settlement), -ham (homestead), -feld (farmland), -by (village), -caester (Roman stronghold), -worthig (enclosure), -dun (hill), -halh (nook of land) – but these usually follow a first element which is much harder to define, especially when a personal name is concerned.
The famous Domesday Book – a land survey commissioned by William the Conqueror and completed in 1086 – shows Derbyshire names which have been modernised but otherwise changed very little in all that time.
To understand where they came from, we went looking in the Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names.
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Most Derbyshire towns can boast a history which stretches back hundreds, if not thousands, of years – leaving legacies on the landscape, built environment and local economies, and in the enduring names given to those places. Photo: DT
. Derby
Recorded as Deoraby in the 10th century, then Derby in 1086, the Viking name of the historic county town means 'Farmstead or village where deer are kept', but is also influenced by the Roman Derbentio and the river Derwent, which has the Celtic meaning "valley thick with oaks". Photo: Brian Eyre
. Chesterfield
Known as Cesterfelda 955, then Cestrefeld by 1086, the name means: ‘Open land near a Roman fort or settlement’. Photo: jason chadwick
. Ilkeston
Recorded as Tilchestune in 1086, then Elkesdone in the early 11th cent, meaning: ‘Hill of a man called Ēalāc’. Photo: Lindsay Colbourne
. Belper
Known as Beurepeir in 1231, the name comes from the French for ‘Beautiful retreat’. Photo: Brian Eyre
. Dronfield
Known as Dranefeld in 1086, the name means: ‘Open land infested with drones’ - thought to refer to male bees. Photo: Steve Ellis
. Buxton
Written as Buchestanesc around 1100, the most likely meaning lies in the river Wye and ‘the rocking stones or loganstones’. Photo: Jason Chadwick
. Ripley
Noted as Ripelei in 1086, the name usually means: ‘strip-shaped woodland clearing’. Photo: Brian Eyre
. Heanor
Written Hainoure in 1086, meaning 'Place at the high ridge’. Photo: Rachel Atkins
. Bolsover
Written Belesovre in 1086, then Bolesoura by the 12th century. Probably meaning ‘ridge of a man called Boll or *Bull’. Photo: Brian Eyre
. Eckington
Known as Eccingtune around 1002, then Eckintune by 1086, meaning ‘estate associated with a man called Ecca or Ecci’. Photo: Brian Eyre
. Shirebrook
Recorded as Scirebroc 1202, meaning ‘Boundary brook’ or ‘bright brook’. Photo: Derbyshire Times
. Matlock
Recorded as Meslach in 1086, and Matlac 1196, meaning: ‘Oak-tree where meetings are held’. Photo: Rachel Atkins
. New Mills
Earlier called Midelcauel 1306, ‘the middle allotment of land’, it was renamed New Miln by 1625, and then pluralised as local industry built up. Photo: jason chadwick
. Killamarsh
Known as Chinewoldemaresc in 1086, the origin is: ‘Marsh of a man called Cynewald’. Photo: Waistell staff
1. Derby
Recorded as Deoraby in the 10th century, then Derby in 1086, the Viking name of the historic county town means 'Farmstead or village where deer are kept', but is also influenced by the Roman Derbentio and the river Derwent, which has the Celtic meaning "valley thick with oaks". Photo: Brian Eyre
2. Chesterfield
Known as Cesterfelda 955, then Cestrefeld by 1086, the name means: ‘Open land near a Roman fort or settlement’. Photo: jason chadwick
3. Ilkeston
Recorded as Tilchestune in 1086, then Elkesdone in the early 11th cent, meaning: ‘Hill of a man called Ēalāc’. Photo: Lindsay Colbourne
4. Belper
Known as Beurepeir in 1231, the name comes from the French for ‘Beautiful retreat’. Photo: Brian Eyre