It’s a rare occasion when we get the opportunity to name a landmark these days.

Pretty much everything of significance in south west Hertfordshire has already been identified and christened.

We generally just have to make do with the names we have inherited from our ancestors.

I have lamented previously in this column the lack of imagination displayed by our Anglo-Saxon forebears whose uninventive naming efforts seem to be the ones that have largely stuck.

Watford and Rickmansworth are both facile names devised as functional markers to help them navigate the chaotic Dark Age Briton.

Yet in Watford we currently have the chance to name two new landmarks, which will be loom large in the town – the two new Metropolitan Line stations due to be built in West Watford as part of the Croxley Rail Link.

When I say “we”, I actually mean, of course, Tube authority Transport for London as it is that august organisation that has the final say on the new monikers.

Thus far, the discussions on what the stations should be called have been behind closed doors, with a number of names already ruled out.

The current shortlist is “Cassiobridge” for the station in Ascot Road and “West Watford” for the one planned for Vicarage Road.

The latter option has kicked off something of a brouhaha as county councillors, who would prefer the station to be named Vicarage Road, went public with their dissatisfaction.

The case they make is that the name is recognised widely in the town and beyond due to its association with the football club and the hospital.

The campaign for the Vicarage Road station name has quickly gathered momentum as the town’s elected mayor and its MP have both thrown their weight behind Vicarage Road and more than 700 people have signed a petition in its favour.

The reason TfL favour the “West Watford” option, councillors have been told, is they no longer want to name tube stations after roads.

The theme they are adhering to is easy to identify on the Tube map. In central London there is an abundance of stations named after roads – Baker Street, Old Street, Liverpool Street etc.

The further you come out of the capital, as stations are more spread out, they tend to be named after the wider areas they serve.

So in this area the tubes are Moor Park, Croxley, Watford, Rickmansworth and Chorleywood.

Naming the Vicarage Road station after the road would be incongruent with the current tube trend.

Nevertheless, Vicarage Road is more than a mere road name. As the home of Watford FC it is a name many, many people will instantly link with Watford.

It is also a strong and distinguished landmark in its own right.

And clearly a large number of people in the town want to see the station named after it – as the online polls conducted by this paper and the number signing the Vicarage Road petition bears witness.

TfL is showing signs of being receptive to the political pressure mounting over the Vicarage Road issue as the decision on the names has been postponed until September.

Hopefully, this period will be used by bosses at TfL to find out what station names best fit for people in the town and not just their own policies.

It would be a great pity if unwanted station names were imposed on us by a bunch of transport suits in London.