How London’s tube stations got their names

At some point in its history, Covent Garden lost an ‘n’ (Credit: Alamy)

London’s Underground has some unusual station names. They names are curiously, even bizarrely, whimsical. Some seem suited better to a medieval fantasy (Knightsbridge, Queensway) or a children’s book (Piccadilly Circus, Elephant & Castle) – and others still make Londoners giggle (Shepherd’s Bush, Cockfosters). But these names weren’t chosen simply to give city-dwellers an alternate world to imagine as they hurtle beneath the capital. Some of their origins, in fact, date back millennia. The BBC looks at 10 of their favorites to find out where the names really come from.