Why do some Oxford and Cambridge colleges have the same name?

There are five colleges that have exactly the same name: Corpus. Jesus. St John's. Trinity. Wolfson. There is one college with the same name but a different spelling: Magdalen (Oxford) and Magdalene (Cambridge). And one with different punctuation: Queens' (Cambridge) and Queen's (Oxford). read more

Its because the colleges with the same names have tunnels that link them together. So if you go into the cellars of jesus college, oxford, and take a wrong turn, you go through a magic portal in time and space and end up at jesus college, cambridge, only 5 minutes after you left oxford. read more

The KGB Agent answer: Oxford and Cambridge are each made up of colleges – more than 40 at Oxford, more than 30 at Cambridge. read more