Many local place names can trace their origins back to the early Anglo-Saxon and Viking settlers. During the eighth Century the Anglo-Saxons established small villages or hamlets throughout the area, often growing out of a farmstead or 'tun'. They also replaced the Celtic language with an early ancestor of our modern English. The Angles were followed by the invading Norwegian Vikings who colonised Cumbria and the Dales towards the end of the tenth Century. Their Norse influence is still very evident today.

Examples of local place names and their origin:

• Austwick - The East dairy farm (austr ON east + wic OE dairy farmstead)
• Crummackdale - The crooked valley (crumbaco Br crooked + dael OE / dalr ON valley)
• Ingleborough - The fort on the peak (ingel OE peak + burh OE fort)
• Norber - North hill (north OE / ON north + beorg OE hill / berg ON hill)
• Oxenber - Ox hill (oxa OE ox + beorg OE hill / berg ON hill)
• Wharfe - relates to the curving hillside above the hamlet (hvarf ON the bend)

Further examples can be found in a number of books on the subject, including 'Place-names of the Yorkshire Dales' by Peter Metcalfe.