mean forest, Saltus designates a wooded mountainous region, frontier, wildlife refuge, [[pagus]] means country, and silva pertica refers to a tall-treed forest.

A hypothesis put forth by the linguist Guy Villette based on the name Perche having initially designated the forest region, and not the province, would have Perche represent the pre-Celtic name of Indo-European origin *perkw-ik-a (forest) with long trees », dissimilated into *pertika, and transmitted as such in the Gallic language,