A lot of the street information research on this website is academic in nature – from university research, the Survey of London, British History Online, borough conservation areas and more. Occasionally, the Hive Mind comes up trumps – these derivations come from discoveries on the Wikipedia made during 2019 which is feeding into the project.
If we find derivations wanting here, we remove them. With that proviso, the TUM project provides them here for your enjoyment…
A-B-C D-E-F G-H-I J-K-L M-N-O P-Q-R S T-U-V W-X-Y-Z
Tabard Street SE1 – Name taken from the Tabard Inn, that was already an ancient tavern when the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and the Pilgrim Fathers left for their long journey to America. The name Tabard comes from a sleeveless coat, open on both sides, with a square collar, winged at the shoulders, commonly worn by noblemen in wars as their coat-of-arms. The sign of this tavern was this garment.
Tabernacle Street EC1 – In 1567 this Meadow was home to three windmills and known as Windmill Hill, and it is where George Whitefield’s Tabernacle was built by his supporters after he separated from Wesley in 1741.
Tachbrook Street – after Henry Wise, local 18th century landowner and gardener to William III, who owned land near Bishop’s Tachbrook, Warwickshire [Victoria]
Talbot Court – after a former inn of this name (or ‘Tabard’) [City of London]
Talbot Yard – a corruption of the Tabard Inn, as above [Southwark]
Talfourd Road Southwark Thomas Talfourd Judge and politician, buried in West Norwood Cemetery, south of the street.
Tallis Street City of London Thomas Tallis Composer and hymn-writer whose name is engraved on the façade of the nearby former building of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which stood here until 1977
Tankerton Street – possibly for directors of the East End Dwellings Company who developed these streets in the 1890s [Bloomsbury]
Tanner Street – after the tanneries formerly located here; it was formerly Five Foot Lane, after its narrow dimension [Southwark]
Tarrant Place – probably after Tarrant Crawford in Dorset, where the local Portman family owned land [Marylebone]
Taunton Mews – this land was formerly owned by the Portman estate; this street is named for Taunton, Somerset where they owned land [Lisson Grove]
Taunton Place – this land was formerly owned by the Portman estate; this street is named for Taunton, Somerset where they owned land [Lisson Grove]
Tavistock Court – from the Russell family, earls and later dukes of Bedford, local land owners in the 17th century whose estate was at Tavistock, Devon [Covent Garden]
Tavistock Place – after Tavistock, Devon, where the dukes of Bedford owned property [Bloomsbury]
Tavistock Square Camden Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock Family name of the Dukes of Bedford who owned the land
Tavistock Street – from the Russell family, earls and later dukes of Bedford, local land owners in the 17th century whose estate was at Tavistock, Devon [Covent Garden]
Taviton Street – after Taviton, Devon, where the dukes of Bedford owned property [Bloomsbury]
Tedder Close Uxbridge Street built near the site of the former RAF Uxbridge, and named after an air marshal in the Second World War. Arthur Tedder was Air Officer Commanding RAF Middle East Command.
Telegraph Street – renamed (from Bell Alley, after a former inn) when the General Post Office’s telegraph department opened there [City of London]
Telford Terrace – after the pioneering engineer Thomas Telford [Victoria]
Temple Avenue – after the adjacent Temple legal district [City of London]
Temple Lane – after the adjacent Temple legal district [City of London]
Temple Place – after the nearby Inner Temple and Middle Temple [Holborn]
Tenison Court – after the Tension Chapel, now St Thomas, on Kingly Street; it was named after Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury in the early 18th century [Soho]
Tenison Way – after Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury 1695-1715, by connection with the nearby Lambeth Palace [Waterloo]
Tennis Street – after tennis courts formerly located here [Southwark]
Terminus Place – descriptive, as it lies outside Victoria station terminus [Victoria]
Tetty Way Bromley Elizabeth Johnson (known as Tetty) Wife of Dr Johnson, who is buried in the nearby Bromley Parish Church
Thanet Street – after Thanet in Kent, home county of local 16th century landowner Andrew Judd [Bloomsbury]
Thavies Inn – after a house here owned by the armourer Thomas (or John) Thavie in the 14th century [City of London]
Thavie’s Inn EC1 – Named after an honest man, John Thavie who was an armourer, and lived there in the time of Edward III. It was sold in 1769 and now is hardly noticeable as it forms part of Holborn Circus.
Thayer Street – after Anne Thayer, who inherited this land from her father Thomas Thayer; the street was built in the 1770s by her husband Jacob Hinde [Marylebone]
The Cut – as when built it cut through what was then open country/marsh [Waterloo]
The Mall – built as a course for playing the game pall mall, fashionable in the 17th century [Westminster]
The Queen’s Walk – named in the 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II [Waterloo]
Theobald’s Road – this road formerly formed part of a route used by Stuart monarchs to their hunting grounds at Theobalds House, Hertfordshire [Bloomsbury]
Thirleby Road – after Thomas Thirlby, Bishop of Westminster 1540-50 [Westminster]
Thomas Doyle Street – after Thomas Doyle, a key figure in the building of St George’s Cathedral, Southwark [Southwark]
Thomas More Highwalk – after 16th century author and statesman Thomas More [City of London]
Thomas More Street Tower Hamlets Thomas More Lawyer, writer and statesman executed in the nearby Tower of London, who has a memorial plaque in the street
Thorney Street – after Thorney Island, a former eyot in the Thames [Westminster]
Thornhaugh Mews – after local landowners the dukes of Bedford, also titled Barons Russell of Thornhaugh [Bloomsbury]
Thornhaugh Street – after local landowners the dukes of Bedford, also titled Barons Russell of Thornhaugh [Bloomsbury]
Thornton Place – after Sophia Thornton, mother of Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven; the earl married Emma Selina Portman, whose brother Gerald Berkeley Portman, 7th Viscount Portman named this street in her honour [Marylebone]
Thrale Street – after the Thrale family, who owned a brewery here in the 17th century [Southwark]
Threadneedle Street – originally Three Needle Street, after the sign on a needle shop located here, later corrupted due to the obvious collocation of ‘thread’ and ‘needle’ [City of London]
Threadneedle Walk – originally Three Needle Street, after the sign on a needle shop located here, later corrupted due to the obvious collocation of ‘thread’ and ‘needle’ [City of London]
Three Cups Yard – named after a local inn of this name in the 18th century [Holborn]
Three Kings Yard – after a nearby inn, demolished 1879 [Mayfair]
Throgmorton Avenue – after 16th century diplomat Nicholas Throckmorton; the Avenue was built in 1876 [City of London]
Throgmorton Street EC2 – Corruption of the name of Chief banker of England Nicholas Throckmorton, Elizabeth I’s ambassador to France and Scotland.
Thurloe Square, Close, Place and Street Kensington and Chelsea John Thurloe Owned the land on which the square was later built, and was said to have been given it by Oliver Cromwell for services during the Commonwealth.
Tilney Street – after either John Tilney (or Tylney), who was granted this land in the 18th century [166] or Ann Tilney, 18th century property owner; it was formerly Tripe Yard, after the butchery trade here [Mayfair]
Timber Street – the streets here were built by a timber merchant circa 1810 who named them after trade-related activities
Tinworth Street – after George Tinworth, noted ceramic artist for the Royal Doulton ceramics company at Lambeth [Vauxhall]
Tokenhouse Yard EC2 – Before the reign of James I, stood on this site the manufacturer of tokens that were used as the copper coinage of England.
Tolmers Square – after the village of this name in Hertfordshire; the New River flowed from the county and this land was formerly a reservoir owned by the New River Company [Regent’s Park]
Tom Cribb Road Greenwich Tom Cribb World boxing champion of 1810, who lived and died in Woolwich, where the road is located
Tompion Street – after 17th century clockmaker Thomas Tompion; formerly called Smith Street [Clerkenwell]
Tonbridge Street – after Tonbridge in Kent, home town of Andrew Judd, local landowner of the 16th century [Bloomsbury]
Tonbridge Walk – after Tonbridge in Kent, home town of Andrew Judd, local landowner of the 16th century [Bloomsbury]
Took’s Court – after local 17th century builder/owner Thomas Tooke [City of London]
Tooley Street Southwark Saint Olaf King of Norway who fought with Æthelred the Unready against the Danes allegedly in what became the parish of St Olave’s, Southwark. He was canonised and the name was corrupted from St Olaf to Tooley. The church was demolished in 1926 and St Olaf House, with a stone relief of him stands on the site.
Topham Street – after local strongman Topham the Strong Man, who performed feats of strength here in the 18th century [Clerkenwell]
Torrington Place – after George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington, father-in-law to local landowner John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
Torrington Square – after George Byng, 4th Viscount Torrington, father-in-law to local landowner John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford
Tothill Street – uncertain; the street formerly led to Tothill Fields, thought to be from ‘tote hill’ meaning a look-out hill [Westminster]
Tottenham Court Road – after the former manor of Tottenham (Tottenhall) which stood here from the 13th century, possibly from one local William de Tottenall, or else meaning ‘Tota’s Hall’. The name later became confused with the unconnected Tottenham, Middlesex [Bloomsbury]
Tottenham Mews – after the former manor of Tottenham (Tottenhall) which stood here from the 13th century, possibly from one local William de Tottenall, or else meaning ‘Tota’s Hall’. The name later became confused with the unconnected Tottenham, Middlesex [Bloomsbury]
Tottenham Street – after the former manor of Tottenham (Tottenhall) which stood here from the 13th century, possibly from one local William de Tottenall, or else meaning ‘Tota’s Hall’. The name later became confused with the unconnected Tottenham, Middlesex [Bloomsbury]
Toulmin Street – after the Toulmin family, prominent figures in local business and church affairs [Southwark]
Tower Bridge Road – as it leads to Tower Bridge [Southwark]
Tower Court – named after a former inn on this site, closed 1848; Tower Court was formerly Lumber Court [Covent Garden]
Tower Hill Terrace – after the adjacent Tower Hill [City of London]
Tower Royal – after a former Medieval tower and later royal lodging house that stood here; ‘Royal’ is in fact a corruption of La Réole, France, where local wine merchants hailed from [City of London]
Tower Street – named after a former inn on this site, closed 1848; [Covent Garden]
Trafalgar Square – in commemoration of Horatio Nelson’s 1805 victory at the Battle of Trafalgar [Charing Cross]
Transept Street – after a former chapel on this site, opened 1772, closed in the 1850s, or possibly after the former cross shape created by this street crossing Chapel Street [Marylebone]
Trebeck Street – after Reverend Trebeck, former rector of St George’s on Hanover Square in the 18th century [Mayfair]
Tresham Crescent – this land was in Medieval times owned by the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem; the street is named for Thomas Tresham, Grand Prior 1557–59 [Lisson Grove]
Trig Lane – after one of several people with the surname Trigge, recorded here in the Middle Ages [City of London]
Trinity Church Square – after Trinity Church here [Southwark]
Trinity Square – after the adjacent Trinity House [City of London]
Trinity Street – after Trinity Church here [Southwark]
Triton Square – after the Greek god of this name [Regent’s Park]
Triton Street – after the Greek god of this name [Regent’s Park]
Trump Street – thought to be after either a local builder or property owner or the local trumpet-making industry [City of London]
Tudor Street – after the Tudor dynasty, with reference to Henry VIII’s nearby Bridewell Palace [City of London]
Tufton Street – after its 17th century builder Sir Richard Tufton [Westminster]
Turk’s Head Yard – after an 18th-century tavern of this name here [Farringdon]
Turnagain Lane – descriptive, as it is a dead-end; recorded in the 13th century as Wendageyneslane [City of London]
Turnmill Street EC1 – Shakespeare’s Turnbull-Street, a well known street for harlots in his time. It was Trimullstrete in Edward III’s day, with three water-mills in a graceful River Fleet setting.
Turpentine Lane – as this lane was home to turpentine manufacturers in the 19th century [Victoria]
Tweezer’s Alley – a blacksmithing term [Holborn]
Twyford Place – after Twyford, Berkshire, home of James Farquharson Remnant, 1st Baron Remnant for whom Remnant Street is named [Holborn]
Tyburn Way – formerly the site of the Tyburn gallows, itself named after a deserted hamlet called Tiburne in the Domesday Book, meaning ‘boundary stream’ [Mayfair]
Tyers Street – for Jonathan Tyers and his son, managers of the nearby Vauxhall Gardens for much of the 18th century [Vauxhall]
Tyers Terrace – for Jonathan Tyers and his son, managers of the nearby Vauxhall Gardens for much of the 18th century [Vauxhall]
Tyler’s Court – after Richard Tyler, late-17th century local bricklayer [Soho]
Tylney Road Newham Richard Child, 1st Earl Tylney Builder of Wanstead Park, a former house whose estate extended southwards to the location of the road
Tysoe Street – after local landowners (dating back to the 17th century) the Compton family, earls and later marquises of Northampton, who owned land at Tysoe in Northamptonshire [Clerkenwell]
Udall Street – after Nicholas Udall, 16th century playwright and headmaster of Westminster School [Westminster]
Ulster Place – after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, brother of the Prince Regent (George IV) [Regent’s Park]
Ulster Terrace – after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster, brother of the Prince Regent (George IV) [Regent’s Park]
Undershaft – named after a maypole (or ‘shaft’) that formerly stood nearby at the junction of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe [City of London]
Union Court – named as when built it connected Wormwood Street to Old Broad Street [City of London]
Union Street – thought to be as it linked two other streets [Southwark]
University Street – due to its location near London University [Bloomsbury]
Upper Belgrave Street – after local landowners the Grosvenors (titled Viscounts Belgrave), after their home estate of Belgrave, Cheshire [Belgravia]
Upper Berkeley Street – after Henry William Berkeley, who inherited the local Portman estate via his mother [Marylebone]
Upper Bond Street – after Thomas Bond, member of the consortium that developed the local area in the late 17th century; [Mayfair]
Upper Brook Street – marks the path of the former Tyburn Brook [Mayfair]
Upper Ground – this was formerly a raised earth ditch between the river and Surrey marshland; formerly Upper Ground Street [Waterloo]
Upper James Street – after James Axtell, co-owner of the land when Golden Square was developed in the 1670s [Soho]
Upper John Street – after John Emlyn, co-owner of the land when Golden Square was developed in the 1670s [Soho]
Upper Tachbrook Street – after Henry Wise, local 18th century landowner and gardener to William III, who owned land near Bishop’s Tachbrook, Warwickshire [Victoria]
Upper Wimpole Street – after Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, seat of Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer [Marylebone]
Vandon Passage – after Cornelius Vandon, 16th century yeoman of the guard who founded almshouses for the poor on adjacent Petty France [Westminster]
Vandon Street – after Cornelius Vandon, 16th century yeoman of the guard who founded almshouses for the poor on adjacent Petty France [Westminster]
Vane Street – after Sir Henry Vane the Younger, prominent ally of Cromwell in the Civil War period; Vane was a pupil at the nearby Westminster School [Westminster]
Varndell Street – after the architect CE Varndell, who took over as surveyor the Regent’s Park development from John Nash [Regent’s Park]
Vaughan Road, Harrow Part of a cluster of streets named after teachers and headmasters of Harrow School: Charles Vaughan: (1845–1859).
Vauxhall Bridge – from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John’s mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke’s Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall; the Bridge opened in 1816 [Vauxhall]
Vauxhall Bridge Road – as it approaches Vauxhall Bridge [Westminster]
Vauxhall Grove – from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John’s mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke’s Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall; [Vauxhall]
Vauxhall Street – from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John’s mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke’s Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall; [Vauxhall]
Vauxhall Walk – from the name of Falkes de Breauté, the head of King John’s mercenaries, who owned a large house in the area, which was referred to as Faulke’s Hall, later Foxhall, and eventually Vauxhall; the Bridge opened in 1816 [Vauxhall]
Venables Street – named for Revered Edward Veneable, vicar of the nearby Christ Church, Bell Street [Lisson Grove]
Vera Lynn Close Newham Dame Vera Lynn Actress and singer born in the local area. 51.5530°N 0.0245°E
Vere Street – named by the Harley family, earls of Oxford in honour of the De Vere family, who had held the earldom from 1155 until 1703 when the 20th earl died without issue [Marylebone]
Vernon Place – after Elizabeth Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton, (née Vernon), ancestor to Rachel Russell, Lady Russell, wife of William Russell, Lord Russell of the local landowning Russell family [Bloomsbury]
Vernon Rise – after Robert Vernon, 1st Baron Lyveden, 19th century director of the New River Company [Clerkenwell]
Vernon Square – after Robert Vernon, 1st Baron Lyveden, 19th century director of the New River Company [Clerkenwell]
Verulam Street – from 16th-17th century lawyer, scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon, later created Baron Verulam, who had chambers at Gray’s Inn opposite [Hatton Garden]
Viaduct Buildings – after their position directly adjacent to Holborn Viaduct [Hatton Garden]
Victoria Avenue – named in 1901 in honour of Queen Victoria [City of London]
Victoria Embankment – after Queen Victoria, reigning queen at the time of the building of the Thames Embankment [Westminster]
Victoria Street – after Queen Victoria, reigning monarch when the street was built in 1850-51 [Westminster]
Vigo Street – after either the British victory at the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702 [West End]
Villiers Street Westminster George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham The Street was built in the 1670s on the site of York House, Villiers’ Mansion. Villiers, a 17th century courtier, who acquired York House which formerly stood on this site; his son sold the area to developers on condition that his father and titles were commemorated on the new streets [Strand]
Vincent Square and Vincent Street – after William Vincent, Dean of Westminster 1803-15 and headmaster of Westminster School; the square was originally a recreation ground for the school [Westminster]
Vincent Square Westminster William Vincent Dean of Westminster Abbey who caused the square to be carved out for the use of Westminster School boys, when Tothill Fields was being developed
Vine Hill and Vine Street Bridge – after the vineyards owned by the Bishops of Ely formerly located here [Clerkenwell]
Vine Lane – thought to be after a former vineyard here [Southwark]
Vine Street – after The Vine, an 18th-century public house, [175] which in turn may have been named after a vineyard that existed at this location in Roman times [West End]
Vine Street – formerly Vine Yard, unknown but thought to be ether from a local inn or a vineyard [City of London]
Vine Yard – thought to be after a former inn here called the Bunch of Grapes [Southwark]
Vinegar Yard – after the vinegar distilleries formerly located here [Southwark]
Vineyard Walk – after a former 18th century vineyard on this site [Clerkenwell]
Vintners Court – after the adjacent Worshipful Company of Vintners building; the area has been associated with the wine trade as far back as the 10th century [City of London]
Virgil Place – named by landowner John Harcourt, in allusion to the Roman poet Virgil [Marylebone]
Viscount Street – formerly Charles Street, both names after the Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley, of which there were three in the 17th–18th centuries [City of London]