It's true! Nottingham was once known as 'Snottingham'.
Correct!
Before Nottingham was really called Nottingham, the city had several different names. Some of these names include Snothryngham, Snottingaham, Snottingham, but the first name we know of was Snotengham. These names tell us about the first people that came to the country and to the area and began the city that we know today. The ending of the name (ham) means “home” and came from the Anglo Saxons that came to England to build homes here.
You may know that the county that Nottingham is in is called Nottinghamshire. The word ending “shire” means to “share”. One possible reason for this could be that each “shire” was made up of all the surrounding areas which were in reach of the nearest military centre. Nottingham had one of these military centre because it had strong connections to the north and south. We aren’t sure when Nottinghamshire first began, however we do know that it dates back further than 1016.
Nicholson, A.P., 2003. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Meaning and Origin of the Words Shire and County. [online] Available at: http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/swinnerton1910/chapter1.htm
[Accessed: 17 January 2017].
