English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Gowder Crag

Early-attested site in the Parish of Nether Wasdale

Historical Forms

  • Gouthcrag 1338 Cl
  • Cowter Cragg 1578 Cocker

Etymology

The solitary medieval form suggests that the first part of the name may be ON  gauð , 'barking,' presumably in the sense of 'echoing,' but no certainty is possible.