In the UK many names seem unfamiliar to us, but have logical
beginnings. For instance, the East Midlands were ruled by the
Danes during the ninth century. This resulted in the creation of
place names ending in "by" (a suffix thought to originate from
the Danish word for "town"), such as Thoresby and Derby. Others
end in "thorpe" (meaning "settlement"), such as Ullesthorpe.