Origins of British Place Names 2 Quiz

Answer: Earnley

From the Old English 'earn' and 'leah' (open field) and known in the 8th century as 'Earneleigh'. My source, "The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names" does not say that 'earn' is related to 'eagles', so we can only assume.

Eartham is also in West Sussex and means 'Homestead in the enclosure of ploughed land."

Apparently not connected at all to eagles, Eaglesfield in Cumbria is from the Celtic, c.1170 'Eglesfeld'. It means 'Open land near a Romano-British Christian Church."

Earswick is first mentioned in 1086 (the 'Domesday Book') and is from the Old English meaning 'Farm of a man named Aethelric."

Answer: Marston Moretaine

Though probably an easier 'giveaway', I included Marston Moretaine (also spelled 'Morteyn' on some road signs) because this town is where my great grandfather was born in 1860 and my family lived there for many generations. It was recorded as 'Merestone' in the 'Domesday Book' and 'Marston Morteyn' by 1383.

Located in Wiltshire, Marston Meysey comes from the manorial affix 'of the Meysi family' c. 1259.

Northamptomshire's Marston Trussell, is also from a 13th century manorial affix of the Trussel family.

Marston Magna, Somerset, is from 1248. 'Great Merstone'. from the Latin affix 'magna' meaning 'great'.

Answer: Sezincote

Recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Ch(i)esnecote', Seznicote is from the Old English 'cisen' plus 'cot'.

Also found in Gloucestershire, Sharpness is recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Nesse' and in 1368 'Schobbenasse', 'Headland of a man called Scobba'. From the Old English personal name 'Scobba' plus 'naess', meaning headland.

Seething, Norfolk, recorded in the 'Domesday Book' as 'Sithinges' comes from the Old English personal name plus 'ingas' and probably means '(Settlement of) the followers or family of a man named Sith(a)'.

Buckinghamshire's Shalstone or 'Celdestone' in the 'Domesday Book', possibly means 'farmstead at the shallow place or stream.' From Old English 'sceald' plus 'tun'.

Answer: Flawith

Flawith is from Old Scandinavian 'flagth' + 'vath'. Alternate Old Scandinavian meanings for the first element may be 'flatha', flat meadow, or 'fleathe', waterlily.

Also in Yorkshire, Upsall is also from Old Scandinavian 'up' + 'salr' meaning 'higher dwelling".

Wysall, Nottinghamshire ('Wisoc' in the 'Domesday book'), is from the Old English 'wig' plus 'hoh', possibly meaning "Hillspot of the heathen temple."

Also in Nottinghamshire, Teversal means 'Shelter of the painter or sorcerer, or of a man called Teofer'. From Old English personal name plus 'hald', or 'tiefree' + 'hald'.

Answer: Port Sunlight

Port Ellen, Argyle, was named for Lady Ellenor Campbell of Islay, widow of the Gaelic scholar W. E. Campbell, who planned the settlement in 1824.

Located in Gwynnedd, Portmeirion (literally, 'Port of Meirion') is the name devised by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis in the 1920s for his new Italianate coastal village. In fact, it was "The Village" in Patrick McGooghan's popular 1960s series "The Prisoner".

Porin, in the Scottish Highlands, comes from the Gaelic word 'porainn' meaning pasture.

Answer: Llandinabo

'Llan' is Welsh for 'church'. It is frequently added to personal names such as in Llandeloy (Pembrokeshire),'Tylwyf's Church' or Llandegfan (Angelsey), which means 'church of St. Tegfan'. It is also frequently added to other place names such as Llandulas (Conwy), 'Church on the River Dulas'.

Answer: Moyola

Moyola, Gaelic 'Maigh Fhoghlach (river)'. The original river name was 'Bior' (water). Later it became 'Abhainn na Scrine' (river of Ballynascreen), the parish name meaning' townland of the shrine'.

Westmeath's Moyvote ('Magh Mhora') means 'Mora's plain'.

Moyvally ('Magh Bhealaigh'), Kildare, means 'Plain of the pass'.

Mowhan ('Much Bhan'), in Armagh, dates from 1838 and means 'White plain'.

Answer: Aberfeldy

From the Pictish 'aber', combined with 'Peallaidh', the name of a water sprite said to haunt the place where the Moness Burn enters the Tay.

Located in Stirlingshire, Aberfoyle also takes the Pictish 'aber' plus the Gaelic 'phuill'. The two headstreams of the River Forth unite here, joined by the River Foyle.

Also in Perthshire, Abernethy ('Aburethige' c. 920), 'Confluence of the River Nethy', comes from the Pictish 'aber' plus the Pictish 'nectona' meaning pure. Nectonos is also the name of a Celtic water divinity.

Aberford, near Leeds, Yorkshire, is from the Old English woman's personal name 'Eadburh' plus 'ford'. Hence, 'ford of a woman called Eadburh'.

Answer: Lawhitton

Known in the 10th century as 'Languitetone', Lawhitton comprises the Cornish 'nans' or 'lann' plus the personal name, with a later addition of the Old English 'tun' (farmstead).

The remaining cities are all in Cornwall. 'Gwennap' (1269 'Wenappa') means 'Church of St. Wynup', its patron saint.

'Gwithian' is also named for the patron saint of the church, St. Gothian.

'Lanivet' means 'church-site of Livri'.

Answer: Youlgreave

Recorded as 'Giolgrave' in the 'Domesday Book', Youlgreave is from the Old English 'geolu' plus 'graefe or graef'.

Youghal, Cork, is from the Gaelic 'Eochaill' meaning 'yew tree'.

'Ioletun' in the 'Domesday Book', Youlton is a combination of an Old Scandinavian personal name and the Old English 'tun'.

Eyam, also in Derbyshire ('Aiune' in the 'Domesday Book'), means 'Place at) the islands, or the pieces of land between streams'. From the dative plural form of the Old English 'eg'--'egum'.

Just as in my first quiz on this subject, all information was taken from "The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names."