Why do Romance countries have so many more place names with the word 'Saint/St.' than Germanic countries?

For instance, the UK has 278 place names containing the word 'Saint', out of a total of 51596 (Source). Germany has 148 places beginning with 'Sankt' (Source, there's no way of finding out the total number of places listed in the database without having to go through each place one-by-one, but I assume we're looking at a similar number of places in total). France on the other hand has 5042 out of 36658 communes containing the word 'Saint' or 'Sainte' according to the Insee, and I imagine the percentage of places in Spain or Italy containing the word 'San' would be fairly similar.

Is there a reason for this? I assume most places in Europe were named long before the Reformation so I'm not convinced it's a Catholic/Protestant divide, and besides you don't get that many more places with the word 'Saint' in it in Ireland or Austria.

2 Answers 2015-08-27

Hi historians, what would be a good book on Eleanor of Aquitaine?

Title

3 Answers 2015-08-27

Would Hitler have eventually betrayed and attacked Japan as he did with the Soviet Union?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Do we know Caesar's hobbies?

Do we know anything about it? I read somewhere that he wrote fiction in his youth, and of course later the reports of his exploits.

But do we know anything else he did for recreation?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Are there examples of the Streisand Effect in history? What are some?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

My AP textbook says that the US had segregated ambulances for decades. If this is true, how would it even work? If there were no black ambulances in range, would they just leave you to bleed out?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

Does anyone know the human side of Hitler?

In movies he just screams "Nein nein nein ". At school they told me that he was the devil himself... I'm not saying I think these are wrong accusations, I just want to know the other side of the story, how would be a conversation with him? Was he a good friend? Was he maybe a puppet of the real Devil person?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

Is the number of first generation immigrants today significantly higher than first generation immigrants a 100 or 150 years ago?

3 Answers 2015-08-27

Was there music before the advent of recorded sound accessible to the middle/working class?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

The current troubles in some parts of the Middle East, along with other recent conflicts, seem to have displaced a large number of people who have fled their homeland. Can anyone elaborate on the history of refugees and their impact on different cultures?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Could anyone recommend a non-fiction book of a civilian's account of WWI?

I checked the reading list, and all of the books there appeared to be fictitious novels. I would like the book to be at least 300 pages long. An account of a soldier or a nurse would be fine as well.

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Where did middle class 18th or 19th century people keep their horses?

My understanding (which might be wrong) is that in the middle ages only wealthy people actually owned a horse(s) but but in later times even middle class people owned a horse(s).

Assuming that's correct, where did they keep them? I've seen stables in these old large estates that were owned by the wealthy, but what about average people?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

How did the loss of the colonies after the American Revolution impact the British economy?

Both in the immediate short term & the medium term.

1 Answers 2015-08-27

How would a letter to a lady friend look like in the 1930s?

If I were to send a letter to a lady friend in the 1930s, how should it look like, in terms of the envelope/stationery/ink, as well as the format and composition of the letter?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

A large amount of Cold War-era NATO military doctrine seems to be centered around countering a Warsaw pact Invasion of West Germany. What would the Soviets actually stand to gain from such an invasion? Simply a desire to reunite Germany?

The creation of the Apache attack helicopter, A-10 Warthog, and dispositions of NATO forces in Europe were specific to stopping Soviet tanks from invading West Germany through the Fulda Gap and North German Plain. Why was this seen as the inevitable result of the Cold War? Why would the Warsaw Pact realistically wish to expend so many men and resources just to capture West Germany?

In Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising the Soviet objective is to force the dissolution of NATO in order to capture Middle Eastern oil unopposed. Is it a fair assumption that capturing West Germany would not necessarily be the primary objective?

Sorry for the rambling post, I've just always been curious.

2 Answers 2015-08-27

In 1995, what sort of decisions and predictions faced the distilleries that laid down the 20-year-old whisky that is now being sold?

You can currently purchase 20-year-old whiskys from James Martin's, Glenbridge, Glennfiddich, Laphroaig, and others -- but what sort of decisions did those companies have to make back when they first set out on the two-decade process of bringing these liquors to market?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

What was the real reason Hitler wanted to purge the lands of Jews?

[deleted]

2 Answers 2015-08-27

On what day in history did the most Americans lose their lives?

I am currently reading The Killer Angels and got to thinking about American casualties during the Battle of Gettysburg. I could not find a specific answer to this question through limited research and was wondering what /r/askhistorians thinks.

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Who did the Hohokam/Anasazi peoples descend from? Also who did the Mississippian peoples of Cahokia descend from?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

What's the most ironic thing to have ever happened (and be recorded in history)?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

Does this theory have any truth to it?

http://youtu.be/nySOKjkENOQ

I saw this video getting posted around recently and it seemed pretty far fetched. Does it make any sense or is the guy full of it?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Why was European civilization so much mor advanced than Native American civilization

From my understanding, European civilization was far more advanced in technologies (i.e. guns, sailing vessels, architecture) than the Native Americans. If that is true, why?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Is Europe's migration crisis comparable to the ancient migration period of the celts?

1 Answers 2015-08-27

Why hasn't there been a Holy Roman Emperor in so long?

Is there some treaty or agreement that stops Popes from performing the coronation ceremony or is it just a fad that died out?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

Did minorities have the same rights as Russians in the USSR?

2 Answers 2015-08-27

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