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| Name Ending |
| Introduction |
| -bec, beck |
| -burgh |
| -by, bi |
| -chester, caister |
| -den, dene |
| -don |
| -field |
| -firth |
| -ford |
| -hall |
| -ham |
| -ing |
| -kirk |
| -ley, lea, leigh |
| -minster |
| -scale |
| -sea, sey |
| -shaw, shawe |
| -stock, stoke, stow |
| -thwaite |
| -ton |
| -ville |
| -wick |
| Europe Index |
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New Light on Old Place Names
| | HAM, HAMLET |
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Basic meaning="home" |
Place names using the term
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Ham was first thought to have been used in the 5th and 6th centuries but recent investigations have shown heavy concentrations of hams close to and around Roman settlements. In their northern forages, the Romans came across Germanic peoples, probably descendants of the fearless Goths, who were skilled in the use of the saex (short sword). So many of these were employed as mercenaries and became known as the Saexons (they were NOT from Saxony but from the area around southern Denmark known as Schlezwig Holstein).
When the Romans finally tired of English weather, many of these (who had married local women) elected to remain behind in England. In time, there was a gradual immigration of their sisters and cousins and aunts. Apart from a few isolated battles with the resident Celts, there seems to have been no "invasion" to drive the Celts into Wales and Cumbria. In the main, the Cwmry (brotherhood) seem to have moved west entirely of their own accord.
When the single ham grew into a collection of homes, it became a hamlet. |
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