Lincoln

The origin of this name is still quite uncertain today. The theories include: 1) From the Welsh “Llyn,” meaning “lake” or, occasionally, “pond, pool,” plus the Latin “cŏlōnĭa,” meaning “colony, farm, farmhouse.” The word and its cognates in other Celtic languages (such as the Irish: linn and the Breton: lenn). 2) Lindum Colonia was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is called Lincoln, in the English county of Lincolnshire. The name is of mixed Celtic and Latin origin, The Latinized form “Lindum,” from Brittonic “*Lindon,” meaning “pool, lake” (Modern Welsh: llyn ‘lake, pool, puddle, pond’), and Latin “colonia” (legionary) colony.” The name “Lindum Colonia” even survived, being shortened in Old English to become ‘Lincoln.’ This name is usually given in honor of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States during the American Civil War.