] That's something which occasionally pops up on the P&P board. But if so- who's been bearing what for so long? And is Meryton very merry or just meritorious? Or is it simply Jane's version of the Hampshire village/town of Cheriton? Is Lambton anything to do with lambs, or is it a sly reference to the pennine town of Shipton?( it's not Derbyshire, but it's definitely Peaks and a tourist spot.) Where does that put Hunsford, Netherfield, Rosings, Brighton, and Gracechurch street?

] It's a nice idea, but I think if you find pun in one, you have got to find a pun in a lot of them, before you discover anything significantin JA's writing method.

I agree that for names that JA created, if you detect a pun in one, you should probably find a pun in all. But for the names of Brighton and Gracechurch street, I don't believe that requirement is necessary. It seems to me that she would be using actual place names to cue the readers to whatever associations there were with those places at the time (i.e. Brighton as a vacation spot, Gracechurch Street as lively market street, etc.)

I can think of a few pun for Netherfield (mostly having to do with Hades), but I am not so sure about Hunsford (something to do with Attila?) or Rosings (something to do with the Lancasters and the Yorks) ;-)