Victor Watt's reference work comprises a completely new compilation, based on the archives of the English Place-Name Society. It reflects the most recent scholarship for all names of cities, towns, villages, hamlets, rivers, streams, hills and other geographical locations included in the Ordnance Survey Road Atlas of Great Britain (1983), with many more recent additions. The Dictionary will be of interest to geographers, historians, historical linguists and language scholars.

Originally published in 2004, this alphabetical dictionary is a major reference work, based on the archives of the English Place-Name Society and reflecting the scholarship in the subject, of all the names of cities, towns, villages, hamlets, rivers, streams, hills and other geographical locations included in the Ordnance Survey Road Atlas of Great Britain (1983). It provides a reflection of contemporary England, not just its historical past. Every place-name entry has a unique National Grid reference number, a list of historical spellings, the age and meaning of the name and its etymology (pre-Indo-European, Indo-European, Celtic, Primitive Welsh, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Old French, Middle English, Modern English). Where appropriate, a commentary is provided on comparable names, on the problems, history and significance of the name for settlement, economic and social history, the development of the language and on its variant pronunciations and spellings.