The Coquet rises in the Cheviot Hills and flows about forty miles to the North Sea at Amble. The name Coquet looks French, but along with many river-names it has a long and winding history.

Silver coins and jewellery and other treasures appear in English place-names – but all that glisters is not gold!

This family name story explores the history of the most common family name in Britain, Smith, and some of its relations.

Explore name studies with SNSBI, connecting researchers and enthusiasts across Britain and Ireland through research, publications and events.

Where does the surname Attenborough come from?

This story explores the ways in which Old English tūn was used in place-names and traces how tūn developed from a word meaning 'enclosure' or 'fence' to become the most commonly used element in Englis...

Place-names are not always what they seem! This tale of three place-names containing 'Easter' – from Scotland, England and Polynesia – shows how different and surprising the origins of apparently simi...

This story explores how certain French bastides (fortified towns) received English names

Many place-names are deceptive, so it's not surprising that many people have assumed that the striking name Pity Me (best known from County Durham, but found more widely) can't really be what it seems...

Where did the family name Hamilton originate, and where in the world did it get to? We finish our exploration of the story of Hamilton by looking into where we find Hamiltons today.

This story continues the story of Hamilton. In part 2, we consider the spread of the family name as it was carried by the tides of history far from its place of origin?

Scottish and Irish families including a line of dukes, over 200,000 Americans, towns in Scotland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, a football club, a racing driver, a musical – all these Hamiltons a...

Part 2 of the Mills & Boon story explores the origins of the family name Boon.

Since the 1930s ‘Mills & Boon’ has been a byword for escapist romantic fiction. Part 1 of the Mills & Boon story explores the occupational connections of the family name Mills.

Creamh or wild garlic abounds in damp woodlands – and in the place-names of Ireland as well as parts of Britain.

What might link the family names Fox, Gough, Todd and Redknap? If you're foxed, you should probably read this family name story...

This story looks at some Glasgow place-names which tell us about the natural environment through a language which was the mother tongue of the area’s communities for several centuries: Gaelic.

This name story traces the history of the family name Hitchcock, best known today as the name of the film director Alfred Hitchcock.

The place-name York, like the city itself, has a fascinating history reflecting the influence of many different peoples

Discover routes into names and name studies with the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland! Our new SNSBI website contains lots of material on place-names and surnames, with name-stories foc...

Where does the surname Attenborough come from?

The place-names of Britain and Ireland, from Aberdeen to Zone Point (Cornwall), and Galway to Norwich, are exceptionally diverse and full of interest, reflecting the remarkably variegated geology, geo...

In his recent book The Cuckoo's Lea Dr Michael J Warren provides a beautiful exploration of how birds are entwined with British history, particularly in our place names. Join us for an exclusive Q&A ...

This workshop aims to reflect on names and naming practices in the context of migration from a variety of disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, tackling present or historical situation...