Salisbury, Australia, Canada, Dominica, Guam, Russia, Uganda, UK, USA, Zimbabwe 1. Russia: an island, Ostrov Solsberi in Franz Josef Land, probably named after Robert Gascoyne‐Cecil (1830–1903), 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, British prime minister (1885–6, 1886–92, 1895–1902).2. UK (England): the original city was 1½ miles (2½ km) to the north at Old Sarum, an Iron Age hill‐fort subsequently developed by the Romans, who called it Sorviodunum. It was developed further by the Saxons, who called it Searobryg, and by the Normans, who gave it the name Sarisberie (which appeared in the Domesday Book in 1086). The site was abandoned in the 13th century and construction of a cathedral was begun on the present site. The meaning of Sorvio is not known but
dunum is ‘fort’. This gave way to
burh, the dative of which is
byrig with a spelling here of
bryg, with the same meaning. In line with Norman custom the first
r of the name was changed to
l. Sarum, which first appeared in the 14th century, is actually the result of a mistake. The Latin Saresburiensis appeared in medieval documents and was sometimes abbreviated to Sarum because in Latin documents
‐rum was also the abbreviation for
‐resburiensis. In contrast to the ancient site of Old Sarum, Salisbury also has the name New Sarum.3. USA: named after the city in England are the cities in Connecticut, founded in 1738, Maryland (1732), Massachusetts (1640), and North Carolina (1753), although the latter was named after the city in Maryland.4. Zimbabwe: see
Harare.
