Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Viking-influenced Place Names of Wirral

Birkenhead: "Headland growing with birch trees". Early forms include Byrkeheveht (1259) and Birkheued (1260).

Caldy: Kald-eyjar "Cold-islands".

Claughton: Klakkr-tun "Hamlet on a hillock".

Frankby: Frankisbyr "Franki's (or Frakki's) village or settlement".

Gayton: Geit-tun "Goat farmstead".

Heswall: "Hazel spring" from Old English hasel, reinforced by Norse hesli with OE walla (spring).

Irby: Ira-byr "Settlement of the Irish", or possibly "Settlement of Scandinavians from Ireland".

Meols, Great and Little: From melr meaning sandbank, sandhills. A place-name of identical origin exists in Iceland (Melar).

Ness: From Nes meaning "Promontory".

Neston: Nes-tun "Farmstead at or near the promontory".

Noctorum: Cnocc-tirim "Hill that's dry" or "Dry Hill". Old forms include Cnoctyrum (1119).

Raby: Ra-byr "Village at a boundary".

Thingwall: Ping-vollr "Assembly field".

Thurstaston: Porsteinns-tun "porstein's farmstead". Old forms include Thurstantona (1119), Thorstanton (1202).

Tranmere: Trani-melr, "Cranes' sandback".

West Kirby: Vestri-kirkjubyr, "The west village of the church".

Whitby: "The white manor or village". From hviti (white) and byr (settlement).

very interestin joe another good post and possibly not the last lol.

i must say the names from the viking era do look similar or is it just me lol

Thanks for that, Joe. The only one I knew was the -by ending; lots of those in Wirral.

Another name question:
Where does "The Wiend" come from? A quick look on Streetmap shows the one I already knew on the borders of Tranmere & Bebington, another on the edge of Port Sunlight, one in Chester & one in Wigan. So; four in the whole country, three local to us.

Cheers, Chris

From what I can gather from google,

It could be a nordic name meaning 'wind'?

There is a High Wiend and a Low Wiend in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria.

The best result which I think is most likely is that it is a "gap", or a "way", between two buildings.

A wiend is a long sloping area of land like a breck .

Oh yeah and Arrowe Park means Assembly Field, its thought that is where the vikings gathered before going to Thurstaston which was there Viking Parliment.

there is evidence to suggest that the name birkenhead was viking but also there are two other explanations ,the land that the monks built the priory on was called birchen head because of all the birch trees that grow in the borough and also the priory is close to where the birkett would have flowed into the mersey,so this would of been the head of the birkett or birkett head hence birkenhead ,dont know how much if any of this has any relavance to the vikngs, as the book it comes from is probaly before we recognised any involvement of the viknigs

Very interesting