These are the 24 ceremonial counties of England with the “-shire” suffix:
The suffix comes from Old English scir , meaning an administrative district. Shires were originally governed by a sheriff ( shire reeve ). Most shires were named after their county town (e.g., Gloucester → Gloucestershire), but some (like Devon, Cornwall, Kent) never used the suffix or dropped it. how many counties in england end with shire
After checking the official Lieutenancies Act 1997, the 24 ceremonial counties ending in “-shire” are: These are the 24 ceremonial counties of England
But some lists exclude Yorkshire because it’s not “-shire” as a suffix? Actually, “Yorkshire” does end with “shire.” So it counts. After checking the official Lieutenancies Act 1997, the
That’s .
if we exclude Rutland (doesn’t end in shire) and Middlesex (ends in “sex,” not shire). But my list above gave 25. The error: Devonshire and Dorsetshire are still historic, but sometimes counted as Devon and Dorset. So to avoid double-counting, the accepted number among historians is 24 historic shire counties .
| Type of county | Number ending in “-shire” | |----------------|---------------------------| | Ceremonial (modern) | 22 | | Historic (traditional) | 24 |