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Dumfries, Scotland

Dumfries
Dumfries looking east.jpg
Dumfries looking east
Dumfries is located in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries shown within Dumfries and Galloway
Population 40,000 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference NX976762
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DUMFRIES
Postcode district DG1/2
Dialling code 01387
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°04′12″N 3°36′11″W / 55.070°N 3.603°W / 55.070; -3.603Coordinates: 55°04′12″N 3°36′11″W / 55.070°N 3.603°W / 55.070; -3.603

Dumfries (Listeni/dʌmˈfrs/ dum-FREESS; possibly from Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was a civil parish and became the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South. People from Dumfries are known colloquially as Doonhamers.

There are at least three theories on the etymology of the name. One is that the name Dumfries originates from the Scottish Gaelic name Dún Phris which means "Fort of the Thicket". Another is that it comes from a Brythonic cognate of the alleged Gaelic derivation (c.f. Welsh Din Prys). According to a third theory, the name is a corruption of two Old English or Old Norse words which mean the Friars’ Hill; those who favour this idea allege the formation of a religious house near the head of what is now the Friars’ Vennel.


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