You left out some good ones:
Piddletrenthide
Spittal-in-the-street
Steeple Bumstead
Garboldisham
Toft Monks
Ring's End
Warboys
Throckenholt
Scrabster
Anton's Gowt
and I've barely got warmed up...
Because! They just developed from, mostly, some pre-English word or tribal leader's name.
It could be worse. Nottingham used to be Snotingham, the land of Snot's people, there is a Crackpot in Yorkshire, and the town of Okeford Fitzpaine in Dorset is called by the locals, for some reason, "fippenny ockford".
Names are often derived from Anglo Saxon, Norse or Norman names. They aren't always pronounced the way they are spelt.
Trottiscliffe is said Trosley.
Godmanchester is said Gumster
Wrotham is said Rootum
and of course
Worcestershire is said Woostushuh
Scotland Glasgow...Milingavie pronounced Mulguy.
Most British place names have their roots in Anglo-Saxon or Norse words. Ham e.g Egham would indicate a town. "Egham" would mean perhaps Eg's town.
They are NOT strange they are perfectly normal! You're the one who's strange and bazar for saying that! HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE BRITISH! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SENSITIVE I AM?!?!
Because we have a very long and varied history to draw on, so names are derived from Anglo-Saxon, Norse, Norman French, Latin, Welsh, Scots, Irish etc.
Younger countries usually either name their places after their discoverers or founders, ("Tasmania", "Columbus"); a descriptive name ("Newfoundland", "Greenland") or name them after places from their country of origin ("New Hampshire", "Nova Scotia")
Haringey (how it's actually spelt) doesn't sound weird...But Cockfosters and Egham does.
There's a place in Scotland called. T w a t t
Too much alcohol from an early age. (Apparently one can drink it starting at age five!)
