It may not always have been the same either.
When it comes to British place names, Anglo-Saxon origins tend to dominate in the south and Scandinavian languages in the North, mixing in with Old British or Celtic terms for natural features such as hills and rivers. Wigan demonstrates all three of these influences.
Often towns and villages share common endings such as -tun (settlement), -ham (homestead), -feld (farmland), -by (village), -caester (Roman stronghold) or -dun (hill). The first element is often the hardest to define, with some involving long forgotten people’s names.
To understand where these Wigan places’ names came from, we went looking in the Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names.
1. Abram
Referred to as Adburburgham in the late 12th century, derived from homestead or enclosure of a woman named Eadburh. It has also been known as Abraham. Photo: submit
2. Ashton
A common name, usually a farmstead where ash-trees grow. Affix is an old district name (macrefield 1121) from a Celtic word meaning ‘wall, ruin’ and was previously recorded as Eston in 1212. Photo: submit
3. Atherton
Referred to as Aderton in 1212, opinions differ on the origin of the name with possibilities being farmstead or village of a man named Aethelhere or the Saxon term for brook being 'adre' which is plausible due to Atherton being bounded by brooks to the west and south. Photo: submit
4. Golborne
Recorded as Goldeburn in 1187, the township's name is presumed to stem from ‘Stream where marsh marigolds grow’. Other ancient documents have recorded Golborne as Goldburc in 1201, Goseburn in 1212. Gowborne was a 16th century spelling Photo: submit