This list includes places in Great Britain (including neighbouring islands such as the Isle of Man), some of which were part of the Roman Empire, or were later given Latin place names in historical references.
Until the Modern Era, Latin was the common language for scholarship and mapmaking. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, German scholars in particular have made significant contributions to the study of historical place names, or Ortsnamenkunde. These studies have, in turn, contributed to the study of genealogy. For genealogists and historians of pre-Modern Europe, knowing alternative names of places is vital to extracting information from both public and private records. Even specialists in this field point out, however, that the information can be easily taken out of context, since there is a great deal of repetition of place names throughout Europe; reliance purely on apparent connections should therefore be tempered with valid historical methodology.
Latin place names are not always exclusive to one place - for example, there were several Roman cities whose names began with Colonia and then a more descriptive term. During the Middle Ages, these were often shortened to just Colonia. One of these, Colonia Agrippinensis, retains the name today in the form of Cologne (from French, German Köln).
Early sources for Roman names show numerous variants and spellings of the Latin names.
The modern canonical name is listed first. In general, only the earliest source is shown for each name, although many of the names are recorded in more than one of the sources. Where the source differs in spelling, or has other alternatives, these are listed following the source. As an aid to searching, variants are spelled completely, and listed in most likely chronology.
| Latin name | English name | |
|---|---|---|
| Buxton | ||
| Bath | ||
| Ribchester | ||
| Colchester | ||
| Cantabrigia (medieval Latinisation) | Cambridge | |
| Catterick | ||
| Coria, Corspitium | Corbridge | |
| Cirencester | ||
| Danum | Doncaster | |
| Chester | ||
| Dunelmum[1] | Durham | |
| Dorchester | ||
| Durocobrivis | Dunstable | |
| Rochester | ||
| Durovernum Cantiacorum, Cantuaria | Canterbury | |
| York | ||
| Exeter | ||
| Gloucester | ||
| Exeter | ||
| Aldborough | ||
| Ilchester | ||
| Lincoln | ||
| London | ||
| Londonia | London | |
| Carlisle | ||
| Mamucium, Mancunium[2] | Manchester | |
| Chichester | ||
| Oxonium, Oxonia | Oxford | |
| Brough | ||
| Newcastle upon Tyne | ||
| Leicester | ||
| Rēgulbium, Rēgulvium | Reculver | |
| Richborough | ||
| Salisbury | ||
| Winchester | ||
| St Albans | ||
| Vigornia | Worcester | |
| Wroxeter |
| Canonical Latin name | Other Latin names | English name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andreanae[3] | Kirkruel?,[4] Reguli Fanum, Andreopolis; GOL:[5] Sanctae Andreae Coenobium, Kirkrule, Kilrule | St Andrews | |
| Devana[6] | Aberdonia, Aberdona, Verniconam; GOL: Aberdonum, Aberdonium, Abredonia), Devanha | Aberdeen | |
| Dunedinum[7] | Edinburgum, Edinum; GOL: Edimburgum, Edenburgum, Alata castra, Alatius burgus, Aneda, Puellarum castra) | Edinburgh | |
| Glascouium | Glascovia, Glascum, Glascua, Glasgua | Glasgow | |
| Trimontium | Newstead |
| Canonical Latin name | Other Latin names | English name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabum | Llandovery | ||
| Bangertium | Bangor | ||
| Blestium | Monemuta | Monmouth | |
| Bovium | Cowbridge (disputed) | ||
| Burrium | Usk | ||
| Cambria | Wales | ||
| Canovium | Caerhun | ||
| Castra Diva | Chester | ||
| Cicutio | Pumsaint | ||
| Gobannium | Abergavenny | ||
| Isca Silurum [8] | Isca, Iscae[9] Isca Augusta, Isca Legio, Castra Legionis | Caerleon | |
| Mediomanum | Caersws | ||
| Menevia | Meneva | St Davids | |
| Moridunum | Carmarthen | ||
| Nidum | Neath | ||
| Segontium | Segontio, Seguntio, Seguntium | Caernarfon | |
| Venta Silurum | Caerwent |
| Latin name | English name | |
|---|---|---|
| Botis | Bute | |
| Caesarea | Jersey | |
| Clota (Insula) | Arran | |
| Ebudae | Hebrides | |
| Malaeus[10] | Mull | |
| Mona | Anglesey | |
| Monapia, Monaoeda | Isle of Man | |
| Orcades | Orkney | |
| Scetis | Skye | |
| Taniatide | Thanet | |
| Vectis | Isle of Wight |
| Latin name | English name | |
|---|---|---|
| Albion[11] | Great Britain | |
| Anglia | England | |
| Britannia | Great Britain | |
| Caledonia | Scotland | |
| Cambria | Wales | |
| Cornubia | Cornwall | |
| Hibernia | Ireland | |
| Orientalium Anglorum | East Anglia | |
| Scotia | Scotland, and formerly applied to Ireland | |
| Salopia | Shropshire |
In order of likely publication: