Northampton

N1O1R1T1H4A1M3P3T1O1N1
UK/nɔːˈθæmptən/

proper noun

A large town, the county town of Northamptonshire, now in West Northamptonshire district, England.

OriginOld English Norþhāmtūn →
CommonScrabble 18
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A large town, the county town of Northamptonshire, now in West Northamptonshire district, England.
  2. A former borough in Northamptonshire, abolished on 1 April 2021 and merged into the district of West Northamptonshire.
  3. A civil parish with a town council in West Northamptonshire district, county of Northamptonshire, first elected in 2021, believed to be the largest town with a town council in England.
  4. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A city, the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

      Northampton is a town of just 30,000 people, with only five distinct neighborhoods. But stats like that obscure the fact that Northampton has long punched above its weight, culturally.

      2025 August 19, Jeanne Bonner, “This independent haven is a ‘tangibly different’ college town”, in CNN, archived from the original on 30 Dec 2025
    2. A town in Fulton County, New York.
    3. A hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.
    4. A township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
    5. A borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
    6. A township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
  5. A parish and community in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada.
  6. A town, the seat of the Shire of Northampton, Western Australia, named after John Hampton.
  7. A local government area north of Geraldton, Western Australia; in full, the Shire of Northampton.

Origin

  1. Old EnglishNorþhāmtūn
  2. EnglishNorthampton

From Old English Norþhāmtūn, equivalent to north + Hampton. The earliest reference to Northampton in writing occurred in 914 under the name Ham tune. The Domesday Book (1086) records the town as Northantone: the prefix “North” was added later to distinguish it from other towns called “Hampton”, most prominently Southampton.

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Russian Нортге́мптон
  • Нортге́мптон (Nortgémpton)county town
Cite this entry
APA

Northampton. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northampton

MLA

“Northampton.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northampton. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Northampton,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northampton.

Source: Northampton on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.