Tove
The River Tove at Abthorpe, Northamptonshire.
Location of the mouth within Northamptonshire
Location
Sovereign State	United Kingdom
Country	England
County	Northamptonshire
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Greatworth, Northamptonshire
• coordinates	52°05′30″N 1°11′49″W / 52.091560°N 1.1970709°W / 52.091560; -1.1970709
• elevation	165 m (541 ft)
Mouth	River Great Ouse
• location	Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
• coordinates	52°04′19″N 0°49′54″W / 52.071924°N 0.831661°W / 52.071924; -0.831661
• elevation	63 m (207 ft)
Basin size	216 km2 (83 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	River Great Ouse

The River Tove is a river in England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. Rising in Northamptonshire about a mile north of Greatworth, it flows for about 15 miles (24 km) north and east of the town of Towcester (meaning 'camp on the Tove') near Bury Mount before meeting the Ouse south-east of Cosgrove just north of Milton Keynes. Its final 5 miles (8 km) form part of the border between Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, running alongside the Grand Union Canal. The river ultimately flows into the North Sea.

Etymology

The Old English name of Towcester, which is named for the River Tove,^[1] is Tófe-ceaster,^[2] suggesting (since ceaster comes from the Latin castra, meaning "camp"^[3]) that the Old English name for the Tove was some form of Tófe. Bosworth and Toller give the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa for comparison.^[2]

It is thought Tófa is a shortened form of Thorfrithr, meaning "beautiful Thor" or "peace of Thor."^[4][5][6]

However, the clearest link for an older origin of the Tove name can be found in the dedication on the Sønder Vissing Runestone. The 10th century carvings describe the stone as having been raised by Tófa, in memory of her mother. The first character of her name is ᛏ, the Rune for Týr, a Northern European deity thought to be of early origins in an Indo-European Pantheon. He was a sky god, god of justice, sacrifice and war.