Historic county names that date back nearly 1,000 years will be brought back to life as part of an effort to champion the 'local history that makes us who we are'.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has pledged to formally recognise 'abolished' county names such as Cumberland, Huntingdonshire and Westmorland.
The names disappeared during Edward Heath's government in 1972, but could be seen across the country again if councils erect signs bearing their names.
Communities Minister Eric Pickles has pledged to bring back historic county names that date back nearly 1,000 years
The move is being seen as a symbolic gesture to celebrate St George’s Day.
Mr Pickles wants residents and local authorities to start using the historic names as much as possible to remind ourselves of the 'tapestry' of England.
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As part of the initiative, the Government has now set up an online map to allow people to see the layout of the historic counties.
Mr Pickles said: 'No Westminster officials or European bureaucrats can remove people’s loyalty to the country they were born in.
'From Cumberland to Huntingdonshire or Middlesex to Westmorland, our local history makes us who we are and do what we do. It’s all part of being English. The tapestry of England’s counties binds our nation together.'
Lost over time: A map of the historic counties of England which shows where the abolished ones of Cumberland, Westmorland, Huntingdonshire and Middlesex used to be located
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How they are now: This image shows the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties map which came into existence after the reforms under the Local Government Act 1972
He said the current government has 'binned the arbitrary Government Office Euro-Regions' and was instead 'championing England’s traditional local identities which continue to run deep'.
He added: 'Administrative restructuring by previous governments has sought to suppress and undermine such local identities.
'Today, on St George's Day, we commemorate our patron saint and formally acknowledge the continuing role of our traditional counties in England’s public and cultural life.'
Rupert Barnes, the vice-chairman of the Association of British Counties, welcomed the move, saying: 'The counties are the basic tapestry on which countless generations have made their lives.
The move is being seen as a symbolic gesture to celebrate St George¿s Day
'They have shaped our identities and our view of ourselves and have remained a constant throughout centuries of change to become a vital part of British culture, geography and heritage.
'The counties predate any transient lines drawn for convenience or administration and predate the kingdom itself, rooted in history and cultural identity, so that the ancient counties are of the people not of the state.
'Statutes on administration have respectfully left the ancient counties alone.
'This pattern of the counties brought down to us through the centuries then is the pattern around which the nation has grown and grown great, and worthy of celebration.'
MAKING THEIR NAME AGAIN: THE HISTORIC COUNTIES WIPED OFF THE MAP
WESTMORLAND
The Normans conquered this county in 1092 and created the baronies of Kendal and Westmorland, which were then formed into the single county of Westmorland in 1226.
It formed an administrative county in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 until 1974, after which it became part of the county of Cumbria.
But there is still the Westmorland Gazette or the Westmorland Shopping Centre in Kendal.
MIDDLESEX
The county ceased as an administrative council in 1965.
The former area now corresponds too much of Greater London and parts of Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey.
Middlesex is still used in the names of organisations based in the area, such as Middlesex County Cricket Club and Middlesex University.
CUMBERLAND
This is an historic county of North West England that had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974.
The first record of 'Cumberland' was in 945.
In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the council was abolished and combined with parts of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire to form part of the new county of Cumbria.
But the name continues today most famously as in Cumberland sausage, the HMS Cumberland, nicknamed 'the fighting sausage', the Cumberland County Cricket Club, and as the local newspaper The Cumberland News.
HUNTINGDONSHIRE
This former area covers Huntingdon, St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots, and Ramsey and formed an administrative county between 1889 and 1965.
Under the Local Government Act 1972, Huntingdon and Peterborough merged to form the new non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire. Huntingdonshire still has its own cricket board.