'Cheshunt' recalls a Roman fort, though its second half is uncertain.
The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Cestrehunt. The first part is Old English ceaster, from Latin castra, a fort or military camp. The second is thought to mean a hunting ground or huntsman, or it may come from funta, a spring. The old centre lay near the Roman road of Ermine Street, but no Roman fort has been conclusively found here.