 The placename "Lodelowe" was in use for this site before 1138 and comes from the Old English "hlud-hlǣw".At the time this section of the River Teme contained rapids, and so the "hlud" of Ludlow came from "the loud waters", while "hlǣw" meant "hill" or tumulus.Thus the name Ludlow describes a "place on a hill by the loud waters".