The History Of The Name London

London has been the capital of England ever since 1078, when the Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror. In 1707, it also became the capital of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The name London in fact has a historical story of it’s own. When the Romans invaded Britain as we know it today did not yet exist. What they invaded was a series of small kingdoms. On the banks of the Thames, a trading settlement was found and it was named Londinium in 43AD, approximately. In several books it has also been referred to as Londiniensium, Londinio, Londiniensi and Augusta for some reason.

Figuring out why the Romans used these names is a rather complex matter, that is still yet to be agreed on even 2,000 years later. There is a serious debate about where the part of the name London came from. It includes elements of Celtic translation, since Celtic was widely present in Wales prior to the arrival of the Romans.

The original name could very well have been Llyn Dain, which is Welsh for pool of the Thames, or Llan Dian, in reference to the Temple of Diana, which was intended to be where St Paul’s Cathedral currently is.

The Celtic word Lond, means wild, which would have meant a strong and broad river in pre-Celtic dialect. In the 8th century when Alfred the Great took over the what was a Roman town and had the name anglicized to Lundenburh. Eventually, the name was shortened to London.

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