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List of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom
This toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales it includes ancient and contemporary ceremonial counties, but excludes those English unitary authorities that are not ceremonial counties.

Throughout the histories of the four countries of the United Kingdom, a variety of languages have been used to name places. These languages were often used in parallel with each other. As a result, it is often difficult to assess the genuine etymology of a placename, hence some of the entries below are assigned more than one meaning, depending on which language was used to originally give the place its name. One of the most common words used in county names in the United Kingdom is the suffix shire. This is a West Saxon word meaning share/division.

County name Abbreviation Established Language of origin Earliest form Derivation Avon AV 1974 Brythonic n/a Named after the River Avon. Avon is an Anglicized version of a Brythonic word meaning river. County abolished in 1996. Bedfordshire BE Ancient Old English Beadafordscīr Shire of Bedford. Bedford itself derives from Bieda's ford Berkshire BK Ancient Brythonic + Old English Bearrucscīr Berrock possibly from Brythonic "Hilly place". Buckinghamshire BU Ancient Old English Buccingahāmscīr The county was absorbed into Greater London in 1965 Merseyside ME 1974 English n/a Area around the River Mersey. Mersey is an Old English word meaning 'boundary river'. Middlesex MX Ancient Old English Middelseaxe The (River) Ayr. BanffshireScottish GaelicShire of Banff: Possibly "piglet", though likely from Banba a name for Ireland. BerwickshireOld EnglishShire of Berwick: Possibly meaning Barley farm. wick appears to be from a Norse word, vik, meaning bay, but also berewick, a term for farm or settlement dependent on a main settlement. ButeScottish GaelicLikely from bót fireCaithnessOld Norse and non diagnostic CelticCat headland, from the tribal name of those who inhabited the area. The Gaelic name for Caithness is Gallaibh, meaning "among the Strangers" i. e. the Norse who extensively settled the area. ClackmannanshireBrittonic and Scottish GaelicShire of Clackmannan: "The stone of Manau", a district of the Brythonic people of the Forth area. CromartyshireScottish GaelicShire of Cromarty: Crombaigh crooked bayDumfriesshireBrythonic or Scottish GaelicShire of Dumfries: Uncertain perhaps Fort of the Frisians (Frisian is of uncertain origin but is thought to mean curly, as in curly hair) or Dun phris (fort of the thicket), or Druim Phris (ridge of the thicket). DunbartonshireGaelic(Formerly spelled 'Dumbartonshire') Shire of Dumbarton: Dùn Breatainn (fort of the Britons). East LothianPossibly Brythonic with English ("East")Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English LoðeneFifeGaelic from CelticMeaning unclearInverness shireGaelicShire of Inverness: Mouth of the River Nis. Nis is Gaelic, but the original (ancient) meaning of the river name is elusive. It is unrelated to the common suffix ~ness, found all over Scotland. Kinross shireGaelicShire of Kinross: Cinn Rois head of the wood (or possibly promontory)KirkcudbrightshireGaelicStewartry of Kirkcudbright: Cill Chuithbeirt Church of Saint Cuthbert; Kirk is either from Norse or Old/Middle English, but the word order is CelticLanarkshireBrythonicShire of Lanark: (Place in the) gladeMidlothianBrythonic with English (Mid)Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English LoðeneMorayshireNon diagnostic CelticMoray: Sea settlementNairnshireNon diagnostic CelticShire of Nairn: Penetrating (river)OrkneyOld Norse and non diagnostic CelticIslands of the Orkos (Orkos is suggested to have come from a Brythonic tribal name meaning boar)PeeblesshireBrythonicShire of Peebles: Uncertain possibly pebyll, "pavilions". PerthshireProbably PictishShire of Perth: (Place by a) thicketRenfrewshireGoidelic/BrythonicShire of Renfrew: Rinn Friù point of the currentRoss shireGaelicRois either "forest" or "headland". RoxburghshireOld EnglishShire of Roxburgh: Hroc's fortressSelkirkshireOld EnglishShire of Selkirk: Church by a hallShetlandOld Norse and non diagnostic CelticOrigin disputed, but may be an Anglicisation of the Old Norse Hjältland (in the Scots a "z" is pronounced as a "y" in modern English), or suggested to refer to a personal name (Zet's land). Sealtainn in Gaelic. The old Gaelic name for the islands was Innse Cat, "islands of the Cats": the same people that Caithness is named after. Stirlingshire Non diagnostic CelticShire of Stirling: Sruighlea in Gaelic. Origin uncertain. Folk Etymology has it as "dwelling place of Melyn". SutherlandOld NorseSouthern territory. The Gaelic name for the region today is Cataibh ("among the Cats"), which refers to the same tribe that Caithness takes its name from, and was originally the name for both Caithness and Sutherland together. West LothianBrythonic with English (West)Prob. named from a Gododdin chief, (whom mediæval tradition named Leudonus) by way of Old English LoðeneWigtownshireNorse and/or Middle EnglishShire of Wigtown, from vik meaning a bay. In Gaelic, it is Baile na h Ùige, "town on the bay".

County name Language of origin MeaningAngleseyOld NorseOngull's IslandBrecknockshireWelshBrycheiniog + shire : Brychan's territoryCaernarfonshireWelshShire of Caernarfon: Fort opposite Fôn (Môn is the Welsh name for Anglesey, fon is its lenited form, used here after a preposition)CardiganshireWelshCeredigion+shire (Cardigan town is a back formation) : Ceredig's territoryCarmarthenshireWelshShire of Carmarthen: Fort at Maridunum (the Roman place name Maridunum means fort by the sea)ClwydWelshfrom the River Clwyd (the river name means hurdle)DenbighshireWelshShire of Denbigh: Little fortressDyfedWelsh(District of the) Demetae (Demetae is of unknown origin but describes the pre Roman settlers of the area)FlintshireOld EnglishShire of Flint: (Place of) hard rockGlamorganWelshMorgan's land (Welsh Gwlad Morgan)GwentWelshFrom Venta (Silurum), perhaps originally meaning trading place, the name of the Roman administrative centre later known as Caerwent. GwyneddWelshAccording to folklore, after Cunedda. The Roman name for this district was Venedotia, seemingly cognate with Gwynedd, thus preceding Cunedda. More likely therefore to be "the place of white topped mountains". MerionethshireWelshMeirionnydd+shire : (Place of) MeirionMonmouthshireOld EnglishShire of Monmouth: Mouth of the River Monnow (Monnow is a Brythonic word meaning fast flowing)MontgomeryshireNormanShire of Roger de MontgomeryPembrokeshireWelshShire of Pembroke: Land at the endPowysCompound of Latin and WelshProvincial placeRadnorshireOld EnglishShire of Radnor: Red bank