UK Towns and Cities Ending in "-kirk" (Church): Scottish, English, Northern Irish

The suffix -kirk (from Old Norse kirkja, "church") marks Norse-influenced settlement. Concentrated in Scotland and Northern England:

Scotland (Majority)

• Kirkcaldy (Fife) — "fort on the hard hill" + kirk
• Kirkcudbright (Dumfries & Galloway) — "church of St. Cuthbert"
• Kirkliston (West Lothian) — "church at the listening place"
• Kirkintilloch (East Dunbartonshire) — "fort at the head of the hill"
• Kirkwall (Orkney) — "church bay" (Norse capital)
• Kirkcowan, Kirkcolm, Kirkconnel, Kirkgunzeon, Kirkinner, Kirkmahoe, Kirkmichael, Kirkpatrick — numerous Dumfries & Galloway parishes

England

• Kirkham (Lancashire) — Roman fort + Anglo-Saxon church
• Kirkby Lonsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Kirkby-in-Furness (Cumbria) — "church settlement"
• Kirkby Malzeard, Kirkby Fleetham, Kirkby Overblow (North Yorkshire)
• Ormskirk (Lancashire) — "Ormr's church" (Norse personal name)
• Prestwick (Ayrshire, technically Scotland) — "priest's bay" (but -wick not -kirk)

Northern Ireland

• Lurgan (Armagh) — from Lorgain "long ridge" — not -kirk. Correction: Few -kirk names in NI; Ulster-Scots use "kirk" as word but not suffix in place names.

Etymology Note

-kirk = Norse. -church = Anglo-Saxon (cirice). -eccles = Brittonic (eglwys). Distribution maps Viking settlement zones.