General Place-Name Studies

The following books or parts of books provide an excellent introduction to the subject from a non-Scottish angle, but with much that is relevant to Scotland:

Cameron, K., 1996, English Place Names: new edition of book which first appeared in 1961; unfortunately the important chapter ‘Place-Names and Archaeology’ found in the earlier editions has been omitted from the new one (paperback, £17.99).

Flanagan, D. and Flanagan, L. 1994 Irish Place Names (Dublin).

Gelling, M., 1984, Place-Names in the Landscape (London) an analysis of topographical settlement-names i.e. names of settlements which derive from landscape features e.g. Longridge. Although about England, the points she makes in her Introduction regarding the importance and age of such names are also very relevant for Scotland (paperback edn. 1993, £12.99).

Gelling, M., 1988, Signposts to the Past: Place-Names and the History of England (1st edn. 1978; 2nd edn. Chichester): described by the author herself as a sequel to Cameron’s book (latest edn. £12.95).

Gelling, Margaret, and Cole, Anne, 2000, The Landscape of Place-Names (Stamford).

Owen, Hywel Wyn, and Morgan, Richard, 2007, Dictionary of the Place-Names of Wales (Llandysul).

Padel, O. J., 1988, Cornish Place-Names (Penzance): the Introduction (pp.1-48) is a good summary of the methods and problems of place-name studies in general, as well as discussing Cornish place-names in particular (£5.95)