First published in 1917 and almost certainly out of print - a little book entitled 'City Street Names' (London) by Louis Zettersten.
Well worth looking out for, for the commentary and background information.
Nice example
"LA BELLE SAUVAGE YARD (entered through a passage on the west side of Ludgate Hill, Ludgate Circus end).—Here stood for several hundred years the most famous coaching inn of the City of London, La Belle Sauvage. Many guesses have been made as to the origin of this pretty name. There are proofs that in 1453 an inn called " Savage Inn or the Bell " was here established. The sign was a savage standing by a bell. The first alternative may have originated from the name of the landlord, as a man named William Savage lived in this neighbourhood in 1380. From being used alternatively the two names were later on linked together as The Bell Savage and the present spelling appears in 1676. Other derivations are current, but the above is undoubtedly the correct one.
Jim Carroll