English county (administrative) maps
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All maps with the unqualified word "county" in the title represent the English administrative county system. From [Wikipedia on the Counties of England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_of_England),

> Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical, cultural or political demarcation. 

In practice, these boundaries are mainly used for local administration from central government. They are the basis of councils.

However, in England, the names and outlines of the counties are not derived from convenient grouped areas. In the North, the district names refer to towns, some of which in history were stronger than the cities e.g. Oldham (in Greater Manchester), or Gateshead (in Tyne and Wear). As another example, to this day, though lying in the same Metropolitan area, Coventry is not the City of Birmingham. So a decision has been made to retain the names of the counties, which are commonly understood by those accustomed to the geography of England (this is unlike, for example, the Mapael map of French departments).

These maps present a further problem, that of the name to use as a DOM id. In the Metropolitan Counties, each county is divided into districts. These districts usually have the full title 'Metropolitan Borough of ...'. However, some districts have the official title of 'City of ...'. Here is [Greater Manchester on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Manchester), which contains two city districts, the 'City of Manchester' and the 'City of Salford'. Beyond that, Greater London has a older system. Districts within Greater London are usually called 'London Borough of ...'. Greater London also contains two city districts, 'The City of Westminster' and 'The City of London'. The 'City of London' title is very commonly used to refer to the seats of government, Law, and finance. Also, three districts in Greater London have full titles of 'Royal Borough of ...', Greenwich, Kensington and Chelsea, and Kingston upon Thames.

For use in computing we need short, easily recognisable ids. So full titles have been abbreviated, except in one case. The 'City of London' uses the full title, to reflect common usage, and avoid confusion with Greater London. All other titles are abbreviated. These include 'Manchester', which could be confused with Greater Manchester, but the two names represent commonly understood areas. Also abbreviated is 'Westminster', from the 'City of Westminster'. This is also a commonly understood title.


English Ceremonial county map
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The ceremonial county map is not as detailed as the administrative county maps. From [Wikipedia on English ceremonial counties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England),

> The ceremonial counties, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England, are areas of England to which a Lord Lieutenant is appointed... They are also informally known as geographic counties, as often representing more permanent features of English geography...

Lieutenants are the Monarch's personal representative. 

Aside from the renaming of some urban areas as counties, and the breakup of the Yorkshire Ridings, the Ceremonial Counties are close to the older Shires map, which has existed since the 9th Century. This history can be seen in many of the names e.g. 'Chester-shire' became 'Cheshire'. They have been developed in minor ways and now, with a few exceptions, are closely aligned to the administrative counties.  

While the ceremonial counties have no central government purpose, they continue to exist and be referred to for other purposes. Their reflection of varying geography means publishers frequently print books with titles like 'Walks in Gloucestershire'. Some administrations such as transport and The Police group together under areas similar to ceremonial county boundaries. The ceremonial counties are also used for statistical analysis. The titles are officially approved, and appear on some road signs.