Northern England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. Its scope may depend upon the latitude of the speaker, or administrative aims, convenience, commercial, geographical, historical or other factors will influence the decision on how to divide up England. Different factors may cause individuals, Government or Government agencies, companies, or other types of body or association to make different divisions.

In some contexts Northern England is defined by the See of York, which is administered by the Archbishop of York (though the See includes the Isle of Man, which is not part of England). The prevailing culture is shared by Goidelic Scotland and Northern Ireland whilst genetic relations are with Scandinavian East of England. The Council of the North and the Secretary of State for the Northern Department were in charge of governing this area. The highest bearer of pedigree in the North is HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. North East England is English, Yorkshire and the Humber is Danish and North West England is Viking. The traditional capital in the Northern area has been at York, even as far back into Roman times. When it became Danish, its name was changed to Jorvik.

Areas normally considered to be in the North include

• County Durham
• Cumbria
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• Greater Manchester
• Lancashire
• Merseyside
• North Yorkshire
• Northumberland
• South Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• Tyne and Wear

The three 'northern' government office regions of England also include Cheshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.

Towns and cities in these three northern regions include

• Barnsley, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bootle, Bradford
• Carlisle, Chester, Cleethorpes, Crewe
• Darlington, Doncaster
• Ellesmere Port
• Gateshead, Grimsby
• Harrogate, Hartlepool
• Halifax, Huddersfield
• Jarrow, Hull
• Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool
• Manchester, Middlesbrough
• Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Preston
• Rotherham
• Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Stockton-on-Tees, Southport, Sunderland
• Wakefield, Wigan, Whitby
• York

The North borders the Midlands to the south and Scotland to the north.

See also: Northumbria