14 historical Blackpool place names and their meanings from Scandinavian origins to Old English phrases
By Claire Lark
Published 25th Apr 2023, 12:56 BST
Updated 8th Jan 2024, 10:33 BST
The urban history of Blackpool and the rest of the Fylde Coast is complex, ancient and fascinating.
We have our well-known towns but they are entwined with smaller districts, suburbs and villages which all have their own identity and many of which can be traced back centuries.
Earliest settlements are even mentioned in the Domesday Book. But where do their names come from? Why is Blackpool called Blackpool and where did the name Cleveleys originate? We’ve researched 14 different towns and districts on our beloved Fylde Coast to discover the heritage of their titles.
Take a trip down memory lane looking back at people and places through the decades - from long, lost boozers to memorable moments in time and much, much more - sign up to our newsletter here
Cleveleys means 'woodland clearing near a cliff or bank' Going back thousands of years, there was a river which ran along the route of Victoria Road lined with trees which could indicate the origin of the name Cleveleys. However there are also suggestions that the name Cleveleys came from an inn named 'Cleveley' after its landlord in the mid 1700s Photo: National World
Fleetwood was named by the town's founder Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood. In 1831 he received Royal assent to change his surname to Hesketh-Fleetwood in honour of his maternal ancestry name of Fleetwood. He decided to name his new town after himself. The place name derives from the Old English words fleot, which means stream and wudu which means wood Photo: submit
Marton covers a wide area of Blackpool, this is the Cherry Tree Road and Vicarage Lane junction. The name probably derives from the old English mer, mar or mere which means a lake and 'tun' meaning settlement Photo: Google
A chapel built in 1873 by Colonel John Talbot Clifford was where St Annes began. He dedicated it to Saint Anne in honour of his wife’s aunt Lady Anne Bentinck. It was among the sand dunes and became the parish church of St Annes. As the century progressed, the parish continued to grow Photo: Paul Simpson
The name Lytham is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon 'Hlidtun', which means town in the hills - possibly the sandhills. Historians think that the Anglo-Saxons first settled in the Lytham area round about the year 600 Photo: submit
The name Layton comes from the old English word 'lād' which means settlement by the watercourse and 'tūn' which means enclosure or settlement Photo: Google