Totteridge may be Tata’s ridge; Whetstone probably grew out of ‘West Town’.
Totteridge was Tataridge in the 13th century, the ridge being the high ground between the Dollis Brook and Folly Brook. Whetstone began as a settlement of the Knights Hospitallers that moved west and became West Town, recorded as le Weston in 1398 and Whetstonestret in 1439. Legend says soldiers sharpened their swords here before the Battle of Barnet in 1471, but the name is older.