Pub names are used to identify and differentiate traditional drinking establishments. Many pubs are centuries old, and were named at a time when most of their customers were illiterate, but could recognise pub signs. The use of signage was not confined to drinking establishments. British pubs may be named after and depict anything from everyday (particularly agricultural) objects, to sovereigns, aristocrats and landowners (shown by their coats of arms). Other names come from historic events, livery companies, occupations, sports, and craftsmen's guilds. One of the most common pub names is the Red Lion. This list contains both modern and historical examples.
Methodology
Although the word "the" appears on much pub signage, it is ignored in the following examples; the word "ye' is likewise ignored as it is only an archaic spelling of "the". "Y" represents an obsolete character (þ, the letter Thorn, which is nowadays used only in Icelandic) for the th sound. Its later forms resembled a blackletter y, and it was never pronounced with a y sound. Similarly, other archaic spellings such as "olde worlde" are not distinguished below.
Animals
Names like Fox and Hounds, Dog and Duck, Dog and Gun, Hare and Hounds, etc., refer to shooting and hunting. Animal names coupled with colours, such as White Hart and Red Lion, are often heraldic. A white hart featured as a badge of King Richard II, while a red lion was a badge of John of Gaunt and the Dukes of Bedford amongst others and a blue boar of the Earls of Oxford. Exceptions do exist, however, along with less obvious examples of the form - a combination of both features being Cross Foxes (a name most commonly found in rural Wales), referring to a darker-furred breed of the common Red Fox whose pelts were considered more valuable and sometimes worn as a sign of status.
Bald Faced Stag Inn, Finchley. An inn notorious as frequented by murderers in the past. Barking Dogs, Hoxton (closed). (Also, various Barking Dog pubs.) Named after the canine burglar deterrents. Bear Inn, Reading. Black Bear, Walsoken : actually, had a black bear (stuffed) at the entrance to the premises years ago. Black Birds, Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. Named after the bird. Black Horse, Chester-le-Street : some may be named in memory of a black horse ridden by Dick Turpin, however many including this one predate the event. Bull Inn, Stamford : the town was the last in England to practice bull-running. Bustard Inn, South Rauceby (closed). After the bird of that name, once numerous. Chameleon, Wisbech (now closed). Crane, Cambridge. After the bird of that name, once numerous in The Fens. Crane is one of the nicknames for the inhabitants. Dog, Westhall, Suffolk. Dolphin, Wisbech, Isle of Ely (now closed) : dolphins were caught and presented to the lord of the manor in earlier times; however, it may just be a nautical reference to the port, or a corruption of "Dauphin" in honour of military victories over Napoleon in France (see later section). Dove, Ipswich : a biblical source. Four Swans, Butchers Market, Cambridge (closed down). Heathcock Tavern, Strand : named after a game bird. Lobster, Sheringham. Patronised by the lifeboat crew who formed the Shanty Men. Old Ram, Tivetshall St. Mary. Olde Fighting Cocks, St. Albans. Named for the cocks used in fights and for gambling. Ostrich Inn, Castle Acre. Named after the flightless bird. Packhorse and Pig, Aldergate Street, London Pickerel Inn, Cambridge : named after young pike (Esox lucius). Py'd Bull, Lincoln (closed). This pub was advertised as convenient for drovers in the 18th century. The Pied Bull in Chester in reputed to be the oldest licensed house in the city and dates back to 1155. Pyewipe Inn, Lincoln. Pyewipe is the Lincolnshire dialect name for the lapwing. Red-Hart Inn, Petty Cury, Cambridge (closed). Claimed to have the only cockpit in the town. Rein Deer, Lincoln (closed). Roebuck Inn, Chesterton. Named after the male of the species Capreolus capreolus. String of Horses, Spalding (closed). Swan and Falcon Inn, Gloucester (closed). Ugly Bug, Colton.
Branding
Some pub chains in the UK adopt the same or similar names for many pubs as a means of brand expression. Examples include "The Moon Under Water", commonly used by the JD Wetherspoon chain (and inspired by George Orwell's 1946 essay in the Evening Standard, "The Moon Under Water"), and the "Tap and Spile" brand name used by the now defunct Century Inns chain. The "Slug and Lettuce" is another example of a chain of food-based pubs with a prominent brand; founder Hugh Corbett had owned a small number of pubs, to which he gave humorous or nonsensical names, with the effect of differentiating them from competitors.