• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Trivia - Stations named after people

Status
Not open for further replies.

zwk500

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Jan 2020
Messages
13,218
Location
Bristol
Milton Keynes is named after *two* people! (well, sort of).
The Milton of the original village comes from Middleton, suggesting that part's not after a person but after the geography. Keynes is debatable whether it's a single person or the entire de Cahaines family. Who also, incidentally, gave their name to Horsted Keynes in Sussex, and therefore by extension to the station now on the Bluebell.
In my primary school days, I read that Beckenham was Becca's Ham (farm?), so there's another 3 for you. I suspect there are many similar.
Ham is (I think) a Saxon word for farm, so a lot of -ham settlements will be named after the farmer. In a similar theme, Uckfield is named for it's origin as Ucca's field, and I suspect that there are others.
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Journeyman

Established Member
Joined
16 Apr 2014
Messages
6,295
Helensburgh is named after the wife of the town's founder, who was called...Helen. :)
 

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
11,648
Ashton-under-Lyne (tram stop and train station) Ash is of course a name
That's as may be, but the Ashton part of this particular old Lancashire place name is almost certainly derived from the Old English for "a settlement by ash trees".
 

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
11,648
Milliken Park (near Glasgow) essentially named after James Milliken, an 18th century Caribbean plantation owner.

Can well imagine that station being renamed again at some relatively early date.
 

D1537

Member
Joined
11 Jul 2019
Messages
517
The Milton of the original village comes from Middleton, suggesting that part's not after a person but after the geography. Keynes is debatable whether it's a single person or the entire de Cahaines family. Who also, incidentally, gave their name to Horsted Keynes in Sussex, and therefore by extension to the station now on the Bluebell.
Indeed. What I was alluding to was the possibly apocryphal story that the Government of the time were presented with a shortlist of possibilities based on ancient placenames, and the Minister, Dick Crossman, chose Milton Keynes because it combined John Milton and John Maynard Keynes.
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Milton Keynes is named after *two* people! (well, sort of).

Indeed. What I was alluding to was the possibly apocryphal story that the Government of the time were presented with a shortlist of possibilities based on ancient placenames, and the Minister, Dick Crossman, chose Milton Keynes because it combined John Milton and John Maynard Keynes.

Urban myth. There has long been a village called Milton Keynes, that the new town was built around.
 

David Goddard

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2011
Messages
1,502
Location
Reading
Stations named after people, or stations named after places named after people?
Many, many places are ultimately named after people but the case of the stations named in that way we are looking at a much smaller list.
Not being a pedant here, and enjoying reading all of the comments, but just responding to what I interpreted as the spirit of the topic.
 

Sheridan

Member
Joined
11 Jan 2012
Messages
389
Every "Llan..." village and station in Wales is named after a saint.

The vast majority are, but not all. In terms of stations the exceptions are Llanaber, Llanbradach, Llandaf and Llandrindod, and possibly others. (The first three are named after geographical features, and the last after the Trinity, rather than a specific saint.)
 

Spandau

Member
Joined
15 Aug 2012
Messages
71
Can you define what you mean by "living person". I take that to mean someone who is alive today?
Sorry - my definition would be a real individual who once lived - not something phoney such as Humphrey Park or James Street.
 

Ianno87

Veteran Member
Joined
3 May 2015
Messages
15,215
Stations named after people, or stations named after places named after people?
Many, many places are ultimately named after people but the case of the stations named in that way we are looking at a much smaller list.
Not being a pedant here, and enjoying reading all of the comments, but just responding to what I interpreted as the spirit of the topic.

Sorry - my definition would be a real individual who once lived - not something phoney such as Humphrey Park or James Street.

Liverpool Street is named after the adjacent road which is in turn named after Lord Liverpool.
 

zwk500

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Jan 2020
Messages
13,218
Location
Bristol
Stations named after people, or stations named after places named after people?
Many, many places are ultimately named after people but the case of the stations named in that way we are looking at a much smaller list.
Not being a pedant here, and enjoying reading all of the comments, but just responding to what I interpreted as the spirit of the topic.
The OP specifically includes the saints, and most of the stations cited by the OP are named for the area not the saint directly. If you're including eponymous parishes then I think it's fair to include places named after people more generally.
 

Bigman

Member
Joined
24 Feb 2011
Messages
297
Location
Leeds
Every Victoria station.

Bit of a fudge, but what about Saltaire?
Saltaire definitely. Names after Sir Titus Salt who built the whole village on the River Aire, hence the name. He even got a mention on Pointless last night. Saltaire Brewery beers are nice too.
 

JohnElliott

Member
Joined
15 Sep 2014
Messages
230
The Milton of the original village comes from Middleton, suggesting that part's not after a person but after the geography. Keynes is debatable whether it's a single person or the entire de Cahaines family. Who also, incidentally, gave their name to Horsted Keynes in Sussex, and therefore by extension to the station now on the Bluebell.

Heading down the Bluebell, the 'Sheffield' in Sheffield Park refers to Lord Sheffield.

Per Wikipedia, there's an urban legend that Haywards Heath is named after one Jack Hayward.
 

zwk500

Veteran Member
Joined
20 Jan 2020
Messages
13,218
Location
Bristol
Heading down the Bluebell, the 'Sheffield' in Sheffield Park refers to Lord Sheffield.

Per Wikipedia, there's an urban legend that Haywards Heath is named after one Jack Hayward.
Being extremely pedantic, is the park/estate/house (not sure what it counts as) named after the title rather than the person?

2 stops down from Haywards Heath is Burgess Hill, named for a John Burgeys.
 

johnnychips

Established Member
Joined
19 Nov 2011
Messages
3,675
Location
Sheffield
In most of these examples the station is named after the place in which it is situated, which is named after a person. I think the OP was after stations that are directly named after a person. Mexborough and Conisbrough are named after Saxons: Meoc and an unspecified king, but nobody is suggesting the stations are named after these people. On the other hand, the several Victoria stations would qualify, unless for example they were built on an existing Victoria St.
 

Leyther

Member
Joined
7 Jun 2020
Messages
70
Location
Preston
The town of Fleetwood and naturally the station at Fleetwood.
Was developed by Peter hesketh fleetwood.
 

d9009alycidon

Member
Joined
22 Jun 2011
Messages
837
Location
Eaglesham
The Stations in Coatbridge can trace their name back to the Coats Family Estate, The original Coat's Bridge carried the old Edinburgh-Glasgow road over the Gartsherrie Burn, at what is now Coatbridge Cross, similarly Coat(s) Dyke.
 

Mcr Warrior

Veteran Member
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
11,648
Sorry - my definition would be a real individual who once lived - not something phoney such as Humphrey Park or James Street.
Not sure as regards James Street, but Humphrey Park station and locality (near Manchester) is essentially named after Sir Humphrey de Trafford (1808-1886), former landowner / Lord of the Manor.
 

Whisky Papa

Member
Joined
8 Aug 2019
Messages
384
Not sure as regards James Street, but Humphrey Park station and locality (near Manchester) is essentially named after Sir Humphrey de Trafford (1808-1886), former landowner / Lord of the Manor.
And before the de Traffords, in early Norman times the land was in the ownership of Orme Fitz Seward, whose "tun" (dwelling) was the basis of the name of Urmston.
 

norbitonflyer

Established Member
Joined
24 Mar 2020
Messages
2,270
Location
SW London
Indeed. What I was alluding to was the possibly apocryphal story that the Government of the time were presented with a shortlist of possibilities based on ancient placenames, and the Minister, Dick Crossman, chose Milton Keynes because it combined John Milton and John Maynard Keynes.
Or, just maybe, after the two opposing economic theories of MILTON Friedman (of "monetarism" fame) year and John Maynard KEYNES.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top