# Common place name suffixes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573 "2011-04-07T19:58:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/1 "2011-04-07T19:58:52Z")
I found a few threads regarding individual ones e.g. -stan, -grad but I’m looking to make a comprehensive list. These can be for cities/towns or countries. There’s the aforementioned -stan and -grad, also: -polis -ville -ford -furt -forth -shire -berg -burg -borough -brough -field -kirk -bury -stadt How many more can you come up with? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/2 "2011-04-07T21:52:26Z")
-ia -ton -wich, -wick ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/3 "2011-04-07T21:57:44Z")
-bridge -by -cester -chester -ham -market -mouth -ton -town -wick ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/4 "2011-04-07T22:09:00Z")
-ette ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/5 "2011-04-07T22:09:16Z")
Ones I came up with without resort to searching the net: -mont (e.g. “Glenmont, MD”); -lea/-ley/-leigh (e.g. “Overlea, MD”) Others -mere/-more -cot/-cott > **[The Origins of English Place Names - Local Histories](https://localhistories.org/the-origins-of-english-place-names/)** > > By Tim Lambert BURY, BOROUGH This is usually a corruption of burh, which meant a fort of fortified place. Aylesbury was Aegel’s burh or burgh. Boarhunt was burh funta the spring by the fort. Narborough in Leicestershire was nor (north) burh. BY By... ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/6 "2011-04-07T22:24:55Z")
The first that comes to mind is **-pool** (Blackpool, Liverpool). Wikipedia has a pretty long list of prefixes, roots, and suffixes in British placenames: [List of generic forms in place names in the British Isles - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_generic_forms_in_place_names_in_the_United_Kingdom_and_Ireland) ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/7 "2011-04-08T17:36:32Z")
-boro -borough ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/8 "2011-04-09T00:14:11Z")
-bourne ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/9 "2011-04-09T00:21:38Z")
I come from Colorado. Places like Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins don’t really apply. ☹ hmmm… -over and -dover? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/10 "2011-04-09T01:29:18Z")
-ogue Common on Long Island – Cutchogue, Patchogue, Aquabogue, Quogue, ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/11 "2011-04-09T02:47:05Z")
-sex -hampton And not really a suffix per se, but it serves a similar purpose: “Heights.” ---
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/12 "2011-04-09T09:43:27Z")
-church -land > [@panache45](#): > > -sex Common? Essex, Sussex, Middlesex, Wessex. Maybe I’ve forgotten one… but that’s still a pretty short list! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/13 "2011-04-09T11:28:41Z")
-port -ford ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/14 "2011-04-10T19:49:06Z")
In India: -pore/-pur (Jadavpur, Kidderpore, Barrackpore) -nagar -abad (Ahmedabad, Faridabad). These names only show up in areas that were once under the Mughals. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/15 "2011-04-10T19:58:50Z")
-thorpe - this is a viking suffix, quite a few of those around here. beck - is another viking one dale gate pool ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/16 "2011-04-10T21:00:40Z")
-neck (Aquidneck, Mass.) -by the Sea (Manchester-by the Sea, Mass.) -sur-Mer (Villefranche-sur-Mer, France -head (Marblehead, Mass.) -bury -yard (Martha’s Vineyard) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/17 "2011-04-10T21:11:42Z")
-grove ---
**Author:** ![Normal\_Phase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Normal\_Phase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Normal_Phase)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/18 "2011-04-11T15:40:50Z")
-kill (in southeastern New York. From Dutch, I think, meaning stream. PETA got all up in arms about the town of Fishkill once, a few years ago, but there are tons of them.) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/19 "2011-04-12T21:44:07Z")
-ia. Alexandria, Venezia, Albania, Monrovia, Bolivia, Brasilia… The OP’s -stan is my favorite. Dave Barry once joked about a former Soviet republic named “Stanstanistan”. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573/20 "2011-04-12T22:17:18Z")
> [@Fiveroptic](#): > > -ette Also sometimes spelled -otte. At least, in one case I can think of. Which isn’t, technically, a _place name_, since it’s the name of a place _that named after a woman_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-place-name-suffixes/577573.md?page=2)