Manchester
The name Manchester originates from the Latin name "Mamucium" or its variant "Mancunium" and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians (). These are generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name, either from "mamm-" ("breast", in reference to a "breast-like hill") or from "mamma" ("mother", in reference to a local river goddess). Both meanings are preserved in Insular Celtic languages, such as "mam" meaning "breast" in Irish and "mother" in Welsh. The suffix -chester is a survival of Old English "ceaster" and from that "castra" in latin for camp or settlement ("fort; fortified town").
History of Manchester
Having evolved from a Roman castrum in Celtic Britain, in the Victorian era Manchester was the site of one of the world's first passenger railway station and many scientific achievements of great importance. Manchester also led the political and economic reform of 19th century Britain as the vanguard of free trade. The mid-20th century saw a decline in Manchester's industrial importance, prompting a depression in social and economic conditions. Subsequent investment, gentrification and rebranding from the 1990s onwards changed its fortunes and reinvigorated Manchester as a post-industrial city with multiple sporting, broadcasting and educational institutions.