Dear List I like the one about the water connection and that would need a lot of checking up, probably on location. I wouldn't mind at all being nominated to carry it out. A fortnight isn't really long enough though. One of the difficulties with this is that most settlements tend to be placed where water is available if at all possible and so places in the region that have water but no "ac" at the end of their names may give the lie to that one. Again, research on the spot would be a very good idea! "People of" sounds good too but that would certainly require investigation on each individual place and could be a life's work. According to Gary, the style would apparently have nothing to do with the Romans and Latin and I am glad to rule that one out. Ac in Latin means and, so that didn't make any proper sense. Thank you everyone for taking the trouble over what was, for me, a puzzle every time I passed a road sign with one of these names. Interests go with you on holiday but, thankfully, don't need to be declared at customs' checks nor weighed with the baggage for boarding flights. Audrey