to think and wonder why Cumbria has an exotic Italian-sounding name?

[cowsoy]

Am I the only one that thinks Cumbria doesn't sound like a very English-sounding name for a country? Not many words end in A in the English language. I wonder why this is?

It'll be those fancy Romans. Coming over here with their highfalutin Italian ways.

Great question. To me Cumbria sounds like an illness (a social disease like chlamydia) or like a fancy Italian food... something with pasta....pasta cumbria e olio.

'Hey, Bruno. This damp and cloudy place reminds me of our dear home in Umbria. What shall we call it?'

Cumbria was only named Cumbria in 1974 though, before that it was Cumberland and Westmorland.

In that case someone in local government in Cumberland and Westmorland had a life changing (exotic sex with foreign lovelies) holiday in Umbria in 1973.

Cumbria to me always sounds like a depressing sounding name for some reason

I think the exact opposite, I think Umbria sounds particularly non-Italian. It reminds me of umbrage. Ugly sounding.

I was born in Cumberland (where the hospital was) but lived in Westmoreland. I feel old when I see my birth certificate. Cumbria came into being about a year later.

I get what you mean about it sounding depressing too: I think it is that U vowel followed by the slow and ploddy M and B sounds—a bit like the word Brummy?

The name reflects the Celtics heritage of the area, cumbria is from the same root as Cymru.

The county was always called Cumberland. It was shortened later.

I'll just leave this here....

www.buzzfeed.com/hilarywardle/cumbri-aaahhh?utm_term=.eewPnWEz2l#.pgJyz3XqEm

The best county in the UK

Growing up I had a friend who had a week's holiday every year visiting family in Ipswich. This sounded very exotic to me, and I was surprised to discover that it's actually in England.

delorisvancartier - reason number 43 - it's Northumberland's car park 😉

I joke. Growing up in Northumberland I recall lots of lovely trips to the sister county. Beautiful place.

Love the idea that Ipswich is exotic. I like the noodle bar beside the town hall, but that’s as exotic as it gets! (TBF that’s a lot more exotic than my own Suffolk village)

When we announced we were moving to Cumbria, a few of my dc's primary school friends were convinced it was Colombia we were going to.

I believe Northumbria was originally named as it was the land north of the Humber, so would have included much of Yorkshire too. In Anglo Saxon times it was a huge and very powerful kingdom and York could well have ended up as our capital city if it had continued in dominance. Interesting that in modern times Northumbria has become Northumberland but Cumberland (and Westmorland) has become Cumbria.

Part of my degree was on English place names, I find it fascinating. The best ones are the names that have gone through lots of mangling over the years. Most are quite ordinary.

@DuggeesWoggle
Part of my degree was on English place names, I find it fascinating. The best ones are the names that have gone through lots of mangling over the years. Most are quite ordinary.

I have found my people

Cumbria is a beautiful word.

Ditto what @BrizzleMint said

And a beautiful place.

Part of my degree was on English place names, I find it fascinating. The best ones are the names that have gone through lots of mangling over the years. Most are quite ordinary.

Wow. I'm fascinated by place names too . I'd love to study that!

Brizzle did you know that Manchester apparently means 'fortification on a breast shaped hill'? The 'chester' bit referring to a Roman fortification bit (also the same as the -caster in Lancaster) and 'Man' originally being 'mam' or mammary . So maybe that's what Mam Tor also means. Boob hill. I wouldn't know what shape it was, never been.

Placemarking in case there are any more boob Hills!

@deloris nah, that'd be Yorkshire ;)