Ipswich (previously Gyppeswick in variant spellings) is a non-metropolitan district and the county town of Suffolk, England. It is located on the estuary of the River Orwell. Nearby towns are Felixstowe in Suffolk and Harwich and Colchester in Essex.
The town of Ipswich overspills the borough boundaries significantly, with only 85% of the town's population living within the borough at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, when it was the third-largest settlement in the United Kingdom's East of England region, and the 38th largest urban area in England.List of English cities by population from Census 2001 figures
The modern name is derived from the medieval name, 'Gippeswick' (also spelt 'Gipewiz', 'Gepeswiz', or 'Gypeswiz') is probably taken from the River Gipping which is the name of the non-tidal section of the River Orwell. As of 2007, the borough of Ipswich is estimated to have a population of approximately 128,000 inhabitants.
