A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer and cider. It is a relaxed, social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British and Irish cultures.

Pub names are used to identify and differentiate pubs in the United Kingdom. Many pubs are centuries old, from a time when their customers were often illiterate but could recognise pictorial signs. Pub names have a variety of origins, from objects used as simple identification marks to the coats of arms of kings or local aristocrats and landowners. Other names come from historic events, livery companies, and occupations or craftsmen's guilds.

"Red Lion" is the most common name for pubs. There are more than 600 pubs that are named so. The lion is one of the most common charges in coats of arms, second only to the cross, and thus the "Red Lion" as a pub sign probably has multiple origins: in the arms or crest of a local landowner, now perhaps forgotten; as a personal badge of John of Gaunt, founder of the House of Lancaster; or in the royal arms of Scotland, conjoined to the arms of England after the Stuart succession in 1603.

With the high instance of red lions, more than one can appear in one place, so landlords sometimes make little additions to the names of their establishments with the hope the intending imbiber can find his/her mates in the right "Red Lion".

Slightly less popular names given to English pubs are the names "The Crown" and "Royal Oak"

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