Toponymy's the scientific study of place-names, their origins, meanings, use and typology. The first part of the word's derived from the Greek tópos (τόπος), place; followed by ónoma (ὄνομα), meaning name. It's itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds. To understand the value of toponyms, visualize each toponym (or geographical name) as the title of a story revealing some aspect of a region's cultural or natural h… (More on Toponymist)