- published: 11 Feb 2009
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Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and portions also extend into Wake and Orange Counties. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 94th-largest in the United States by population, with 229,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census. It is the home of Duke University and North Carolina Central University, and is also one of the vertices of the Research Triangle area (home of the Research Triangle Park).
In 2003, the previous Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was re-defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, resulting in the formation of the Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA and the Durham, NC MSA.
Durham is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area. which has a population of 504,357 as of Census 2010. The US Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 1,749,525 as of Census 2010. Effective June 6, 2003 the Office of Management and Budget redefined the Federal Statistical Areas and dismantled what had been for decades the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, MSA and split them into two separate MSAs even though the region still functions as a single metropolitan area.
Coordinates: 54°46′34″N 1°34′24″W / 54.7761°N 1.5733°W / 54.7761; -1.5733
Durham ( /ˈdʌrəm/, locally /ˈdɜrəm/) is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county. It lies to the south of Newcastle upon Tyne, Chester-le-Street and Sunderland and to the north of Darlington.
Durham is well known for its Norman cathedral and 11th-century castle, both designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The castle has been the home of Durham University since 1832. HM Prison Durham is also located close to the city centre.
The name "Durham" comes from the Old English "dun", meaning hill, and the Old Norse "holme", which translates to island. The Lord Bishop of Durham takes a Latin variation of the city's name in his official signature, which is signed "N. Dunelm." Some attribute the city's name to the legend of the Dun Cow and the milkmaid who in legend guided the monks of Lindisfarne carrying the body of Saint Cuthbert to the site of the present city in 995 AD. Dun Cow Lane is said to be one of the first streets in Durham, being directly to the east of Durham Cathedral and taking its name from a depiction of the city's founding etched in masonry on the south side of the cathedral. The city has been known by a number of names throughout history. The original Nordic Dun Holm was changed to Duresme by the Normans and was known in Latin as Dunelm. The modern form Durham came into use later in the city's history. The north eastern historian, Robert Surtees chronicled the name changes in his History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham but states that it is an "impossibility" to tell when the city's modern name came into being.