The suffix -ium was commonly used in Roman toponyms (place names), signifying a settlement or town. This suggests Londinium was a Romanized version of an earlier native name.
Anglo-Saxon Adaptations
After the fall of Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon settlers arrived and began using the name Lunden or Lundon.
- The Old English word wic means “settlement” or “trading place.” Thus, Lundenwic referred to a settlement near the old Roman Londinium.
- Later, Lundenburgh referred to the fortified city or “borough,” which would become the medieval City of London.
The Anglo-Saxon usage retained the core name but adapted it to their phonetic and linguistic norms.
Archaeological and Linguistic Evidence
Archaeological digs in London have revealed evidence of continuous settlement from Roman times through the Anglo-Saxon period. Place names and inscriptions support the usage of Londinium and Lundenwic.
Linguistic studies show that the shift from “Londinium” to “London” followed natural language evolution patterns—dropping Latin suffixes, adjusting vowels, and simplifying consonants.
Early medieval documents such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from the 9th and 10th centuries confirm the city’s name as Lunden or Lundene. shutdown123