MEN'S NAMES IN PLACE-NAMES.

We have seen in a preceding chapter that the earliest Saxon place-names in England are derived from a personal name, and that the idea contained is that of a modified form of common right. We shall find that a very large proportion of the later Anglo-Saxon place-names are also derived from the name of a man, but that the idea contained is now that of individual ownership or occupation. The extent to which English place-names are derived from ancient names of men is, in my judgment, very much greater than is generally supposed. And indeed, when we come to consider it, what can be so naturally associated with a ham as the name of the man who lived in that home, of a weorth as that of the man to whom that property belonged, of a Saxon tun or a Danish by or thorp as that of the man to whom the place owed its existence? If we turn to Kemble's list of Anglo-Saxon names of places as derived from ancient charters, in the days when the individual owner had succeeded to the community, we cannot fail to remark to how large an extent this obtains, and how many of these names are in the possessive case. Now, it must be observed that there are in Anglo-Saxon two forms of the possessive, and that when a man's name had the vowel ending in a, as noted at p. 24, it formed its possessive in an, while otherwise it formed its possessive in es. Thus we have Baddan byrig, "Badda's borough," Bennan beorh, "Benna's barrow" or grave, and in the other form we have Abbodes byrig, "Abbod's borough," Bluntes ham, "Blunt's home," and Sylces wyrth, "Silk's worth" or property. And as compound names did not take a vowel ending, such names invariably form their possessive in es, as in Haywardes ham, "Hayward's home," Cynewardes gemÆro, "Cyneward's boundary," &c. I am not at all sure that ing also has not, in certain cases, the force of a possessive, and that Ælfredincgtun, for instance, may not mean simply "Alfred's town" and not Alfreding's town. But I do not think that this is at any rate the general rule, and it seems scarcely possible to draw the line. From the possessive in an I take to be most probably our present place-names Puttenham, Tottenham, and Sydenham, (respecting the last of which there has been a good deal of discussion of late in Notes and Queries), containing the Anglo-Saxon names Putta, Totta, and Sida. With regard to the last I have not fallen in with the name Sida itself. But I deduce such a name from Sydanham, C.D. 379, apparently a place in Wilts, also perhaps from Sidebirig, now Sidbury, in Devon; and there is, moreover, a corresponding O.G. Sido, the origin being probably A.S. sidu, manners, morals. Further traces of such a stem are found in Sidel deduced from Sidelesham, now Sidlesham, in Sussex, and also from the name Sydemann in a charter of Edgar, these names implying a pre-existing stem sid upon which they have been formed.

As well as with the ham or the byrig in which he resided, a man's name is often found among the Anglo-Saxons, connected with the boundary—whatever that might be—of his property, as in Abbudes mearc, Abbud's mark or boundary, and Baldrices gemÆro, Baldrick's boundary. Sometimes that boundary might be a hedge, as in Leoferes haga and Danehardes hegerÆw, "Leofer's hedge," and "Danehard's hedge-row." Sometimes it might be a stone, as in Sweordes stÂn, sometimes a ridge, as in Eppan hrycg, "Eppa's ridge," sometimes a ditch or dyke, as in Tilgares dic and Colomores sÎc (North. Eng. syke, wet ditch). A tree was naturally a common boundary mark, as in Potteles treÔw, Alebeardes Âc (oak), BulemÆres thorn, Huttes Æsc (ash), Tatmonnes apoldre (apple-tree). Sometimes, again, a man's name is found associated with the road or way that led to his abode, as in Wealdenes weg (way), Sigbrihtes anstige (stig, a footpath), Dunnes stigele (stile). Another word which seems to have something of the meaning of "stile" is hlip, found in Freobearnes hlyp and in Herewines hlipgat. In Anglo-Saxon, hlypa signified a stirrup, and a "hlipgat" must, I imagine, have been a gate furnished with some contrivance for mounting over it. Of a similar nature might be Alcherdes ford, and Brochardes ford, and also Geahes ofer, Byrhtes ora, and Æscmann's yre (ofer, contr. ore, shore or landing-place). Something more of the rights of water may be contained in Fealamares brÔc (brook), Hykemeres strÊm (stream), and Brihtwoldes wÊre (weir); the two latter probably referring to water-power for a mill. The sense of property only seems to be that which is found in Cybles weorthig, Æscmere's weorth (land or property), Tilluces leah (lea), Rumboldes den (dene or valley), Bogeles pearruc (paddock), Ticnes feld (field). Also in Grottes grÂf (grove), Sweors holt (grove), Pippenes pen (pen or fold), Willeardes hyrst (grove), Leofsiges geat (gate), Ealdermannes hÆc (hatch), and Winagares stapol (stall, market, perhaps a place for the sale or interchange of produce). The site of a deserted dwelling served sometimes for a mark, as in Sceolles eald cotan (Sceolles old cot), and Dearmodes ald tun (Deormoda's old town, or inclosure, dwelling and appurtenances?).

But it is with a man's last resting-place that his name will be found in Anglo-Saxon times to be most especially associated. The principal words used to denote a grave are beorh (barrow), byrgels, and hloew (low), in all of which the idea seems to be that of a mound raised over the spot. We have Weardes beorh, "Weard's barrow," also Lulles, Cartes, Hornes, Lidgeardes, and many others. We have Scottan byrgels, "Scotta's barrow," also HÔces, Wures, and Strenges. And we have Lortan hlÆw, "Lorta's low," also Ceorles, Wintres, Hwittuces, and others. There is another word hÔ, which seems to be the same as the O.N. haugr, North. Eng, how, a grave-mound. It is found in Healdenes hÔ, Piccedes hÔ, ScotehÔ Tilmundes hÔ, CÆgeshÔ, and FingringahÔ. It would hardly seem, from the location of four of them, Worcester, Essex, Beds, Sussex, that they can be of Scandinavian origin. Can the two words, haugr and hlau (how, and hlow), be from the same origin, the one assuming, or the other dropping an l?

I take the names of persons thus to be deduced from Anglo-Saxon place-names, and which are in general correspondence with the earlier names in the preceding chapter, though containing some new forms and a greater number of compound names, to give as faithful a representation as we can have of the every-day names of Anglo-Saxons. And as I have before compared the names of those primitive settlers with our existing surnames, so now I propose to extend the comparison to the names of more settled Anglo-Saxon times.

The above names are deduced entirely from the names of places found by Mr. Kemble in ancient charters. The list is not by any means an exhaustive one, as I have not included a number of names taken into account in Chap. IV., and as also the same personal name enters frequently into several place-names. With very few exceptions these names may be gathered to the roll of Teutonic name-stems, notwithstanding a little disguise in some of their forms, and a great, sometimes a rather confusing, diversity of spelling. I take names such as the above to be the representatives of the every-day names of men in Anglo-Saxon times, rather than the names which come before us in history and in historical documents. For it seems to me that a kind of fashion prevailed, and that while a set of names of a longer and more dignified character were in favour among the great, the mass of the people still, to a great extent, adhered to the shorter and more simple names which their fathers had borne before them. Thus, when we find an Æthelwold who was also called Mol, an Æthelmer who was also called Dodda, and a Queen Hrothwaru who was also called Bucge, I am disposed to take the simple names, which are such as the earlier settlers brought over with them, to have been the original names, and superseded by names more in accordance with the prevailing fashion. Valuable then as is the Liber VitÆ of Durham, as a continuous record of English names for many centuries, yet I am inclined to think that inasmuch as that the persons who come before us as benefactors to the shrine of St. Cuthbert may be taken to be as a general rule of the upper ranks of life, they do not afford so faithful a representation of the every-day names of Anglo-Saxons as do the little freeholders who lived and died in their country homes. And, moreover, these are, as it will be seen, more especially the kind of names which have been handed down from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day.

In connection with this subject, it may be of interest to present a list of existing names of places formed from an Anglo-Saxon personal name, as derived from the same ancient charters dealt with in the previous list. And in so doing I confine myself exclusively to the places of which the present names have been positively identified by Mr. Kemble. And in the first place I will take the place-names which consist simply of the name of a tribe or family unqualified by any local term whatever.

I will now take the places which in a later and more settled time have been derived from the name of a single man, as representing his dwelling, his domain, or in not a few cases his grave.

The last name, Windsor, is an amusing instance of the older attempts at local etymology. First it was supposed, as being an exposed spot, to have taken its name from the "wind is sore;" then it was presumed that it must have been a ferry, and that the name arose from the constant cry of "wind us o'er" from those waiting to be ferried across. It was a great step in advance when the next etymologist referred to the ancient name and found it to be Windelsora, from ora, shore, (a contraction of ofer?) Still, the etymon he deduced therefrom of "winding shore" is one that could not be adopted without doing great violence to the word; whereas, without the change of a letter, we have Windels ore, "Windel's shore," most probably in the sense of landing-place. The name Windel forms several other place-names; it was common in ancient times, and it has been taken to mean Vandal. I refer to this more especially to illustrate the importance of taking men's names into account in considering the origin of a place-name.

The above names are confined entirely, as I have before mentioned, to the places that have been positively identified by Mr. Kemble. And as these constitute but a small proportion of the whole number, the comparison will serve to give an idea of the very great extent to which place-names are formed from men's names.