Köping was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word kaupang.
The number of localities designated as köping rose dramatically during the 20th century and reached its peak in 1959, when they were 95.
Many new settlements during the industrialization of Sweden, as well as some of the suburbs in the metropolitan areas, first received the title of köping and it was also made part of their name (such as Linköping or Nyköping).
[clarification needed] They later grew further and received town privileges, but kept the köping ending of their names.
It has been found that a vast majority, nearly 70%, of such designated market-towns lie within an area of 200 km2 (77 sq mi) in south-central Sweden, especially in the highly economically productive region immediately west and south of Stockholm, in Södermanland, Örebro, Östergötland, and Jönköping counties.