Place-names are used world-wide as an agreed means of identifying local areas, a system without which government administration and record-keeping could not function. As well as their administrative importance they have historical and cultural significance in each country.

The study of place-names fulfils a unique and valuable role, providing revealing and interesting information on a country and its people. Many early names for settlements, districts, hills and rivers in Northern Ireland, are still in use today.

In 1987, the Department of Environment funded the Queens University of Belfast in order to establish the Northern Ireland Place-Names Project.  This project was created to research the names of physical features and settlement on the Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland 1:50,000 scale map.  The research has created a computer database of names providing origin, meaning and the historical or other relevant information.  In 1990 work was furthered so to include all townlands and as a result a publication programme began.  Since this began seven volumes have been published on parts of Counties Antrim, Derry and Down.  This project work will continue to contribute to the ongoing development of the pointer address database through the inclusion of place-name information to form an online cultural heritage database. 

Project Objectives:
• Complete the database of the origins of place-names specifically townland names;
• Undertake field research as necessary; and
• Make the information gathered within the project available through on online presence, linked to the Pointer database.