How London’s weirdest stations got their names (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty)
The Tube is like a second home to Londoners, so it’s easy to take the quirky station names for granted.
But maybe you’ve found yourself staring at an iconic Underground station sign blankly while waiting for a delayed train, and wondered about the story behind its name?
Since the first London Tube station – Baker Street – opened more than 161 years ago, the sprawling network of 272 stations now boasts plenty of weird ones.
Some are just named after good old English pubs, and others border on mildly insulting.
Here are the stories behind 11 of London’s quirkiest stations.
1. Swiss Cottage
The brutalist Swiss Cottage station entrance (Picture: Google Maps)
You’d be forgiven for thinking of cheese or the Alps when seeing this station in Camden.
But it was not named after Switzerland or any kind of fondue. Instead, the inspiration was perhaps the greatest of Great British icons: a pub.
The station sits next to a pub once called the Swiss Tavern, later renamed Ye Olde Swiss Cottage, which was built in the Swiss cabin style in 1840.
But today, the brutalist exterior of the station entrance and surrounding buildings are a far cry from a charming cottage vibe.
2. Paddington
Paddington Underground station is regularly among the ten busiest London stations, with more than 46 million passengers in 2022. It’s also a gateway for National Rail trains heading west.
Paddington station is one of London’s busiest transport hubs (Picture: David Levenson/BloombergGetty)
While the station is often associated with its namesake Paddington Bear, its name came before the birth of the cuddly bear in the mid-1950s.
Located in the Paddington area, historians believe the name derives from the a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon chief called Padda.
3. Arsenal
Located in Highbury in north London, the station was renamed after none other than the Arsenal Football Club in 1932.
Football fans will know what getting in and out of the Tube station is like on a game day (Picture: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty)
The old name – Gillespie Road – was replaced with the football club name a few years before the start of the Second World War.
It is a nod to the club’s links to the Royal Arsenal munition factory, where its fifteen founding members worked in 1886.
Arsenal means a collection of weapons. The word was borrowed for the English language from medieval French and Italian.
4. Canary Wharf
One of the newer stations of the Tube network, Canary Wharf in the Isle of Dogs serves the Jubilee Line, Docklands Light Railway and Elizabeth Line.
Canary Wharf Tube station (Credits: Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Picture: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty)
It may be a new addition, but the name of the Canary Wharf docklands dates back to the late 1800s coal trade and later the shipping of bananas to and from the Canary Islands, the BBC reports.
The word ‘canary’ is derived from Old Spanish canario, meaning dogs, which became the name of the islands in the Atlantic Ocean after the Spanish conquest.
5. Elephant & Castle
This bizarrely named station in Southwark derives its name from the south London neighbourhood, which takes after a mid-1700s coaching inn.
The historical Elephant & Castle station building (Credits: In Pictures via Getty Images) (Picture: Mike Kemp/Getty)
The area could have had a pub even earlier than this, as Shakespeare’s comedy The Twelfth Night written in 1601 refers to the ‘Elephant’ in the area.
However, historian Stephen Humphrey says Shakespeare’s pub is more likely to refer to the ‘Elephant on Bankside’ tavern, which was located elsewhere.
One suggestion is that the owners of the coaching inn may have picked the name after medieval craftsmen the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, and their crest which shows an elephant carrying a castle.
6. Cockfosters
The name of this suburban station is perfectly PC, although it might spark some giggles when you hear it for the first time.
The story behind Cockfosters station name (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty)
Cockfosters area is named after the chief forester of Enfield Chase estate since at least the 16th century, who was known as the ‘cock,’ according to Hidden London.
7. West Ham
Hungry tourists are likely to think of a ham sandwich when hearing the station name, while football fans will of course think of the Premier League club.
Another station with links to Premier League football (Picture: Glyn Kirk/Getty)
But the story behind it is a lot less exciting. The Tube station in the London Borough of Newham simply gets its name from the area.
It used to house parts of an old Manor of Ham, derived from the word hamm meaning a dry patch of land between rivers and marshes in Old English – apt for the historical area flanked by the Rivers Lea, Thames and Roding, as well as marshes.
8. Temple
While the station only opened in 1870, Temple oozes history all the way to the 12th century.
Surrounding the Temple Church, the area has close links to knights and Crusades. Temple Church was a stronghold for the secretive Knights Templar military order.
Temple station name has links to the Crusades (Picture: Google Maps)
The name was first recorded as Novum Templum, meaning New Temple in the 12th century.
Since the Middle Ages, Temple has been a world-renowned legal hub thanks to its many barristers’ chambers and the founding of the Inner and Middle Temple courts there.
9. Seven Sisters
No, Seven Sisters is not named after a band, although it sounds much like a 1960s musical act.
This Tottenham station is named after trees.
Seven Sisters station and trees share an unlikely connection (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing/Getty)
A circle of hornbeams located yards from the station on Page Green was planted there by a family in 1996, following a tradition that is said to go back hundreds of years, according to the Londonist.
The first recording of Seven Sister trees dates back to 1732.
Sets of seven sisters from different families kept the tradition alive by planting new trees when necessary in the following decades, it is said.
First were the seven daughters of Mr J McRae in 1852, followed by the Hibbert sisters around three decades later, who continued to maintain the trees until at least 1937, the website reports.
The Basten sisters opted for Italian poplar in 1955 after earlier trees had withered quickly, followed by the 1996 planting of hornbeams which is thought to be the latest planting.
10. Angel
Although modern-day Angel features an angel wing statue at the heart of the trendy area, the station name has a more secular origin.
Sorry to repeat but… it’s another pub.
Normally busy Angel Tube station shuttered during a strike (Picture: Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing/Getty)
The central London station was named after the former Angel Inn at the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road.
The pub was established in the 17th century, according to historian Anthony Mills in his Dictionary of London Place Names.
Most recently, the iconic Grade II listed red brick building near the Tube station housed the Co-Op Bank.
11. Goodge Street
Likely to confuse those whose mother tongue is not English, the name of this central London station is derived from the street it is located on, which in turn is named after a prominent family.
Goodge Street station opened in 1907 as Tottenham Court Road station before a name change (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty)
John Goodge became the owner of Crab Tree Field estate near Tottenham Court Road by marriage in 1718.
Goodge, a carpenter, married widow Anne Beresford, and he continued to develop the estate, according to British History Online.
After Goodge’s death, his two sons continued the legacy, with the family owning the building title until the 19th century.
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