Behind the Name: Place Names Starting with W

WAKEFIELD(Settlement)English
From Old English wacu "wake, vigil" and feld "field". This is the name of a city in England.

WALMERSLEY(Settlement)English
Meaning uncertain. The final element is Old English leah "woodland, clearing". The first element may be a given name such as WEALDMÆR or WEALHMÆR. This is the name of a town near Manchester.

WARSAW(Settlement)English
From Polish Warszawa, derived from the given name Warsz, a short form of WARCISŁAW. This is the name of the capital city of Poland.

WARSCHAU(Settlement)German
German form of WARSAW.

WARSZAWA(Settlement)Polish
Polish form of WARSAW.

WARWICK(Settlement)English
From Old English wer "weir, dam" and wíc "village, town". This is the name of a town in England.

WASHINGTON(Settlement & Political Subdivision)English
Means "settlement belonging to Wassa's people", from the given name WASSA and Old English tun meaning "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of a town in northern England. It is also the name of the capital city and a state in the United States, both named after the president George Washington (1732-1799), whose surname was derived from the name of the English town.

WĘGRY(Country)Polish
Polish form of HUNGARY.

WEMBLEY(Settlement)English
Means "WEMBA's clearing" in Old English. This was the name of a town that is now part of Greater London.

WESTCOTT(Settlement)English
From Old English west "west" and cot "cottage". This is the name of several towns in England.

WESTLEY(Settlement)English
From Old English west "west" and leah "woodland, clearing". This is the name of a few small English towns.

WHITNEY(Settlement)English
Probably from Old English hwit "white" and eg "island". This is the name of a small town in Herefordshire.

WICKHAM(Settlement)English
From Old English wíc "village, town" (of Latin origin) and ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a few towns in England.

WIEREN(Settlement)Dutch
Means "seaweed" in Dutch. This is the name of towns in Frisia and other parts of the Netherlands.

WILLOUGHBY(Settlement)English
From Old English wilig meaning "willow" and Old Norse býr "farm, settlement". This is the name of several towns in England.

WILTON(Settlement)English
From Old English wilig meaning "willow", well meaning "well, spring, water hole", or the name of the River WYLYE, combined with tun "enclosure, yard, town". This is the name of various towns in England.

WINCHESTER(Settlement)English
Derived from Venta, of Celtic origin, and Latin castrum meaning "camp, fortress". This is the name of a city in southern England.

WINSLOW(Settlement)English
Means "WINE's hill" in Old English. This is the name of a town in Buckinghamshire.

WINTHROPE (1)(Settlement)English
Means "Wine's village", from the given name WINE and Old English þrop "village". This is the name of a town in Lincolnshire.

WINTHROPE (2)(Settlement)English
Means "Wigmund's village", from the given name WIGMUND and Old English þrop "village". This is the name of a town in Nottinghamshire.

WINTON(Settlement)English
Means "WINE's enclosure" in Old English. This is the name of various towns in England.

WORTHAM(Settlement)English
From Old English worþ "enclosure" and ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a town in Suffolk.

WYLYE(River)English
Possibly from a Celtic word meaning "tricky". This is the name of a river in southern England.

WYMONDHAM(Settlement)English
From the given name WIGMUND combined with Old English ham "home, settlement". This is the name of a town in Norfolk.

WYRZYKI(Settlement)Polish
Meaning uncertain, possibly from the Polish prefix wy "away from" and rzek "river". This is the name of a few small Polish towns.

	Usage
	Initial letter
	Type
	Meaning	expand search to ancestral names the meaning is anything from the name's write-up that is surrounded by "double quotes" separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to ancestral names: meanings for names further up the family tree will be included in the search
	Description	ignore name meanings the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" will match names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus will match Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored
	Origin
	Length
	Syllables	syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results
	Pattern	the pattern will be compared to the name * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters example: oo will match names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter example: __z will match names which have two letters and then a z
	Sound	case sensitive see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee will match names which end with the sound lee* (s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)rah will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) will match a consonant (k) will match a consonant or consonant cluster (v) will match a vowel (p) will match a plosive or stop consonant (p) will match a fricative consonant (n) will match a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
	Related name
	Relationship	expand search to ancestral names the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive will return Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* will exclude peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree will be included
	Namesake
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