Kirk is found as an element in many place names in Scotland, England, and North America. It is derived from kirk, a Nordic-influenced variant of the word "church". In Scotland, it is sometimes an English translation from a Scots Gaelic form involving cille or eaglais, both words for 'church'. Rarely it is found in Anglicisations of Continental European placenames which originally had Dutch kerk or a related form.
List Kirk by itself is the name of two places: Kirk, Caithness, Highland Kirk, Colorado, a US town
More usually it is an element in a compound name. The remainder of this article is a list of some of these.
In Scotland Ashkirk, Scottish Borders Falkirk Halkirk, Caithness, Highland Kirkburn, Scottish Borders Kirkcowan, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkfieldbank, South Lanarkshire Kirkgunzeon, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkhill, Highland Kirkhill, South Lanarkshire Kirkhope, Scottish Borders Kirkliston, Edinburgh Kirkmaiden, Dumfries and Galloway Kirkmichael, South Ayrshire Kirkmuirhill, South Lanarkshire Kirknewton, West Lothian Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire Kirkton of Skene, Aberdeenshire, and many other Kirktons, all tiny, and mostly matched with a Castleton or a Milton. Kirk, Caithness, Highland Kirkton (various) Kirkwall, Orkney Kirkwood, Coatbridge Kirkwood Estate, East Ayrshire Kirk Yetholm, Scottish Borders Prestonkirk, East Lothian Selkirk, Scottish Borders
In certain situations however, apparent instances of Kirk are, in their first element, from the Scots Gaelic word Cathair ("city, fortress"), or the Brittonic caer ("city, fortress"). Kirkbuddo, Angus Kirkcaldy, Fife Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire
In England (by Lieutenancy area) County Durham Kirk Merrington Romaldkirk (formerly North Riding of Yorkshire) Cambridge Kirkham Kirkgate Chadkirk, Cheshire Cumbria Kirkbride Kirkby-in-Furness Kirkby Kendal Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland Kirkby Stephen Kirkoswald Kirkland, Woodside, Cumberland Kirkland, Lamplugh, Cumberland Kirkland, Culgaith, Westmorland and Furness Kirkstone Pass Dunkirk, Kent Lancashire/ Merseyside Kirkdale, Liverpool, Merseyside Kirkby, Merseyside Kirkham Kirkland Kirkholt Ormskirk Church Kirk (meaning church church; a tautology) Colkirk, Norfolk Peakirk, Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Kirkby-in-Ashfield Kirklington Northumberland Kirkharle Kirkhaugh Kirkheaton Kirknewton Kirkley, Suffolk Lincolnshire Kirkby on Bain Kirkstead Yorkshire East Riding of Yorkshire Kirkburn North Yorkshire Kirkbymoorside Kirkdale Kirkham Kirklevington Kirkleatham Kirklington Felixkirk West Yorkshire Kirkhamgate Kirkheaton Kirklees Kirkstall Kirkburton In Belgium East Dunkirk (from Dutch Oostduinkerke; West Flemish Ôostduunkerke) In the Faroe Islands Kirkja (Danish: Kirke) Kirkjubøur (Danish: Kirkebø) In Finland Kirkkokari, Satakunta (from Swedish Kyrkholmen) Kirkkonummi, Uusimaa (Swedish: Kyrkslätt) Kirkkosaari, Northern Savonia In France Dunkirk, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (from Dutch Duinkerke; West Flemish Duunkerke; French Dunkerque) In Iceland Kirkjubæjarklaustur Kirkjufell (Church Mountain) In Norway Kirkenes, Finnmark In North America Kirkland, Quebec, Canada Kirkland, Washington, United States Kirkpatrick, Oregon, United States Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada, named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
See also Kirk (word) Kirk (disambiguation) Kirk (surname) Kirk (given name) List of generic forms in British place names Aber and Inver as place-name elements
References