Geographical names policy

As the national mapping service of Great Britain, we are responsible for the official surveying and topographic (the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area) mapping of the country.

Through this work, we collect a set of descriptions and proper names/postal numbers of buildings, places and features which we then make available through our products and services.

Further information about how we define and categorise names can be found below. We use current ‘in use’ names, as these are relied on by a range of critical users such as the emergency services and utility providers.

While Ordnance Survey is the national mapping service of Great Britain, it is not the authority on place names. However, as there is no single body in Great Britain with responsibility for this, we are required through our Public Task to collect authoritative place names (as well as descriptive annotations, features, and/or postal numbers of buildings) which then appear on our maps. We undertake this work by gathering evidence from our surveying teams and information provided by authoritative sources from across the country.

An authoritative source is any person, organisation or official record that is recognised by Ordnance Survey as being able to provide the in use name for a particular location (see below for examples).

To determine what a place should be called, we will make enquiries and consult with these sources to establish, with as much certainty as possible, the most suitable name, form, and spelling for all places shown on our maps.

Once we have this information, it is added to our database so that our maps show both the depiction of a location, and the name associated with that location.

Many of the names on our maps will have been collected over several centuries and are often unchanged from the original time of recording.

A proper name is that given to a feature, building or place to distinguish it from other features or places of a similar nature.

A vernacular name is a local nickname or slang name. E.g. ‘The Pregnant Pin’ rather than the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

Some features have more than one proper name, for example, Blencathra or Saddleback. These are sometimes in the same language but most frequently in different languages. Our Welsh names policy and Gaelic names policy can provide more information about the processes we undertake to ensure that these names are accurately recorded and displayed in our maps.

There are two types of names.

Names in the Built Environment are those names which depict a manmade feature such as a house, farm or historical building. In most cases the authoritative sources for these names will be straightforward. This can include, but is not limited to, our surveyors picking up names on signage or street addresses and recording them in our database, through to information being provided by local authorities (Councils) and uploaded into our database through our automated process.

The other names are those found in the Natural Environment. Due to there often not being a clear "owner" for a lot of natural features, we work closely with a range of authoritative sources such as national park authorities, landowners, local authorities (councils) and local community groups to ensure the names on these features are currently in use and are as accurate as possible.

In making decisions about which name to record for a place, street or building, we are guided primarily by local usage and custom. The priority is that the names are currently in use.

Sometimes more than one name is in use at a local level for a single feature, and in cases where the use of two names is sufficiently prevalent locally it may be necessary to record and/or show both on our maps. These are known as places with a ‘dual name’.

We recognise that in Wales and Scotland the official and community use of Welsh and Gaelic means that we often provide dual names as both may be used by the public and displayed on signs. Places known solely in Welsh, Gaelic or English are recorded with that name, with no dual name provided.

Our Welsh and Gaelic names policies can provide more information about the processes we undertake to ensure that these names are accurately recorded and displayed in our mapping.

There are many other languages used in Great Britain including Cornish, Irish and Lowland Scots that are recognised by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages but, in the absence of any UK legislation, are not recorded as dual names in Ordnance Survey data.

In some cases where the only name in use is in one of these languages, and an authoritative source confirms the in use name in that language, then Ordnance Survey would add that name into our maps.

Ordnance Survey cannot decide by itself to change a name. Any rare changes we do make are usually as a result of changes made by authoritative bodies. Examples include Wootten Bassett becoming Royal Wootton Bassett, Staines becoming Staines Upon Thames and Carnedd Uchaf becoming Carnedd Gwenllian. Other changes may be made when a name falls into disuse, or a new name comes into use.

In some of our products Ordnance Survey will need to make decisions around the text that is sometimes displayed, particularly with our popular paper maps which have a limited amount of space for cartographic text. As such, not all names can be shown on these products even though they are captured in our database.

On our digital products this is less of an issue, and we can include a lot more detail for customers. It should be noted that names may only appear on some layers of our mapping depending on the scale being used and the product being used (for example the OS Maps App does not include all layers of mapping that we produce).

If a name is introduced or a change is made, we would expect it to appear on our digital mapping products far sooner than our paper maps which will be updated when we print new editions.

Ordnance Survey strives to be as accurate as possible in the place names which are displayed on our maps but recognise that genuine errors can sometimes occur.

Contact us to report an error and we will be happy to investigate.

Please note that Ordnance Survey does not have the power to compel owners of properties to amend a name.

When looking at natural features, such as hills, lakes or woodland, reported errors would be investigated with the support of national parks, local authorities and other relevant bodies (such as the Welsh Language Commissioner in Wales or Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (AÀA) in Scotland).

We would need to have sufficient evidence that the name is a) in use and b) requires an amendment before making a change.