What’s in a name (pt 1)?

Q Why are Lakeland hills called fells? Alex White, via email

Most British mountain nomenclature (or toponymy, to use the posh term) has its origins in the distant past, and can be traced through our lands in various stages of transformation. Examples include dil, an Old Norse term for ‘valley’ brought with the Vikings and still found on some of the Hebrides, anglicising to dale by the time it reaches northern England. Fell is another example; it’s a derivative of fjall, an Old Norse word for mountain. Similar derivatives (fels, fiall, fjell, fil, fel) can be found all over Europe, all with this common origin. How it became attributed particularly to the Lake District’s peaks is obscure, but it could be to do with the fact that in olden days high ground was only named if it was useful or particularly notable, and ‘fell’ was usually the suffix given to elevated areas suitable for grazing sheep. Since the Lake District was particularly good for this, along with the Pennines, this could explain the proliferation of the name hereabouts. There are also the Campsie Fells near Glasgow, Snaefell on the Isle of Man, Goatfell on Arran and Criffel in Galloway.