The road from Longa Tonga to Willa Minga Honga: Shetland and Orkney placenames

Shetland: Near Scalloway (CC-BY-SA rodtuk)
Shetland: Near Scalloway (CC-BY-SA rodtuk)

I can attest: Shetland (and presumably also Orkney) is a great place to visit. Not just for its landscapes, Shetland ponies and puffins, but also for its people, their language and – turns out – placenames!

On Shetland, you can travel from Rumblings to Quilse of Hageneap, from Poverty not to riches but at least to Longa Tonga, from Willa Minga Honga via Pund of Grutin and Cuppa Water to Drooping Point. Turns out, Mid Dublin is on Shetland as well as something called Fografiddle! If you are a cunning geographer, you should at least once travel to Cunning Geo!

Shetland placenames (Source: Big Think)
Shetland placenames (Source: Big Think)

Orkney features similarly curious placenames: Continue reading “The road from Longa Tonga to Willa Minga Honga: Shetland and Orkney placenames”