Despite the name, Kentish Town is thought to have nothing to do with Kent.
It began as a small settlement on the River Fleet, now underground, first recorded in 1207 as kentisston. The name probably comes from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, the bed of a waterway, the same root as nearby Kenwood. Another theory links it to cant or cantle, Middle English for a corner, as it lies between two forks of the Fleet.