Page "Place name origins" Paragraph 37

Countries which have seen repeated large-scale cultural and / or linguistic changes, such as England or France, tend to have more broken down place names, as the original meaning is forgotten and drifts more quickly.

They may also have more linguistically diverse place names ; for instance in England place names may have Pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, or Norman-French origins.

Conversely, countries with a more uniform cultural / linguistic history tend to have less broken down and diverse place names-Wales for instance ( especially when compared to neighbouring England ).