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About > Toponomy of the name Lincoln
Toponomy of the name Lincoln
The original Iron Age settlement is thought to have been named ‘Lindon’ (meaning “The Pool” in the Brythonic language of Iron Age Britain's Celtic inhabitants), after the adjacent pool in the River Witham.
In the mid-1st century AD the Romans built a legionary fortress on the adjacent hill and subsequently Latinized the Celtic name to ‘Lindum’. In AD71 they converted the settlement into a colonia.
‘Lindum Colonia’ was later abbreviated by English speakers to 'Lincoln'.
