The name Grim's Ditch is Old English in origin. The Anglo-Saxon word dīc was pronounced deek in northern England and deetch in the south. The method of building this type of earthwork involved digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank alongside it. This practice has resulted in the name dīc being given to either the trench or the bank, and this evolved into two words, ditch and dyke in modern British English.