Penrith (, PEN-rith, pen-RITH) is a market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria, England, less than 3 miles (5 km) outside the Lake District National Park. It had a population of 15,181 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Cumberland, Penrith's local authority is currently Eden District Council, which is based in the town, as were the defunct Penrith Urban and Rural District councils. From 1974 to 2015, it was an unparished area with no local council. A civil parish was reintroduced as Penrith Town Council and first elected on 7 May 2015.

The etymology of "Penrith" has been debated. Several writers argue for the Cumbric or Welsh pen "head, chief, end" (both noun and adjective) with the Cumbric rid, Welsh rhyd "ford", to mean "chief ford", "hill ford", "ford end", or Whaley's suggestion: "the head of the ford" or "headland by the ford".

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