Some local place names can be traced back to the Vikings.
If you have ever wondered how local towns and villages got their names, then wonder no more as we have the answers.
Merseyside is full of places with weird and wonderful names, with difficult spellings, but the origin of some of their names are pretty simple - taking inspiration from the surrounding nature and animals. An example is Aintree, which translates to ‘one tree’ and is thought to refer to a tree that was located in the centre of the village.
Many Wirral towns also got their names from the Vikings, with the peninsula being home of Viking settlements.
We take a look back at the origins of place names across Merseyside, which are pretty fascinating.
Many Wirral towns also got their names from the Vikings, with the peninsula being home of Viking settlements.
5. Wallasey, Wirral
Wallasey was known during the medieval period as ‘Kirkby Waley’. Its current name it thought to come from the Norse ‘Wealas-ey’, meaning the island of the Welshmen or Strangers Photo: Wikimedia
6. Aintree, Sefton
The name Aintree originates from Saxon times and is interpreted to mean ‘one tree’ or ‘tree standing alone’. Aintree was once mainly moss land; so the theory is that the tree was planted by the Saxons to establish the centre of their new village. Photo: Sue Adair via Wikimedia
7. Huyton, Knowsley
In the Domesday survey of 1086 the name of the Huyton appeared as Hitune meaning ‘High Town’. The spelling of Huyton has varied from Hitune (1086); Houton (1258); to Hyton and Huyton (1292), the latter becoming the recognised spelling from 1300 onwards. Photo: User Rodhullandemu via Wikimedia CC 4.0
8. Thurstaston, Wirral
It is thought that Thurstaston gets its name from ‘Thorsteinn’, a Viking name and “ton” being Old Norse for a settlement
Hidden in Thurstaston Common is a red sandstone, known by locals as Thor’s Rock or Thor’s Stone. Some believe this is how Thurstaston got its name. Photo: Wikimedia
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