Halifax

Meanings

1. An industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, 20km south-west of Leeds (OS grid ref SE0925).
2. A civil parish of Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
3. A regional municipality, the capital city of Nova Scotia, Canada.
4. A town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.
5. A small town, the county seat of Halifax County, North Carolina, United States.
6. A town, the county seat of Halifax County, Virginia, United States.
7. An earldom in the Peerage of Great Britain.

Etymology

From Old English halh-ġefeaxe (literally “grassy corner”), compounded from halh + ġefeaxe. Folk etymology suggests Old English hāliġfeax (literally “holy hair”), as compounded from hāliġ + feax, from a local legend that the town is said to have received the name from the fact that the hair of a murdered virgin was hung up on a tree in the neighborhood, which became a resort of pilgrims. Compare also Fairfax. The capital city of Nova Scotia is named after statesman George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716–1771). The civil parish is also named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax. Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.