Origin of geographical names in English

The subject of English place names is a complicated one. There are many factors involved, not the least of which is the waves of conquest England suffered during the period in which most of her place names were formed. The result is that English place names come from a variety of languages: possibly preBritish, British, Latin, Old English, Old Norse of two varieties and Norman French. Each of these languages has contributed place names and influenced the form of existing place names. ............................................................................

Some Celtic names contain what are called "inversion compounds," in which the adjectival element occurs as a second element rather than as the first. This is characteristic of Celtic names formed in medieval times. They occur frequently in Cornwall and occasionally in other places where a Celtic influence survived late. Lanreath (Cornwall) is a name of this type, meaning "church site of Reydhogh" (Mills, p. 204). Another example is Pensax (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) meaning "hill of the Anglo-Saxons" ..................................................................................