resurrecting this, i know, but...
In my studies, most names kindof evolve in strange ways that can actually be fairly predictable. Like (using my own world as an example); Sea King's Port may one day become Sea Kingsport, then later Seekingport (or maybe even Sinkingport). Meanwhile, Breed's Keep was built over the ruins of an ancient city called Go'rash. Go'rash meant golden plain in an ancient language that no one recalls, and the new city was founded by a half-orc. Then there's Helvet, which began life as a barbarian village named Hel fuet, but was eventually settled as well by a culture that couldnt reliably pronounce the barbaric language. Hel fuet became helfuit, and helvut, before finally resting at helvet.

And now where it gets strange... I settle a town named Silbrton, after myself. it straddles a river, has a fording place, and is surrounded by soft hills that take to crops well. But someone down the line decides that maybe im not worthy of having the town named after me, so the council agrees to name it riverford... except riverford is just down the road and our city cant be "new" riverford because its older... so instead they decide on riverton... but the citizens speak a different language now, so it becomes, say, riovillea. Now, later it gets conquered and the history squashed and the new rulers name it Rivella since they cant pronounce its name. After a few hundred years, the citizens get their autonomy back and rename it to its "TRUE NAME"... Silver Town.
so yeah... to me, seems evolving the name is just a matter of having an idea of what the local (for that specific place) history is. if you can follow and explain that, you can make Elf Hollow become Orcstone eventually.