Learnings: Naming the Land

An artistic map showing a selection of Old Norse place names in England / Contemporary

This map shows a selection of locations in Anglo-Saxon Britain whose names have their origins in Old Norse. The Scandinavians were not the only people to name their surroundings. The Anglo-Saxons had named their cities and towns before the Vikings arrived, and they continued to rename them long after the Vikings settled. For example, the Roman town Eboracum was called Eoforwic by the Anglo-Saxons, renamed Jorvik by the Vikings, and is today known as York.