Hampton (place name)
The place name Hampton is of Old English origin and is common in England, particularly in the South of England and Central England. It can exist as a name in its own right or as a prefix or suffix. The name suggests a farm settlement, especially one where pastoral farmers keep livestock on flood-meadow pastures.
The name was exported around the world both as a place-name and as a surname, especially to those countries where the English language is an official language. Examples of place-names include:
Etymology
[edit]
Look up home farm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
The English toponymist P. H. Reaney has suggested that the name element Hampton may derive from:
- Old English hām + tūn – "village with a home farm".[a][b][c]
- Old English hamm + tūn – "village with a flood-meadow or pasture".[d][e][f]
The English toponymist Victor Watts has suggested the following possibilities:
- Old English hēah + tūn – "high settlement"[3][g]
- Old English hamm + tūn:[3]
- "settlement or estate in a river bend".
- "settlement or estate between rivers".
- Old English hām + tūn – "home farm".[3]
Examples (home farm)
[edit]Examples of Old English hām and tūn – "village with a home farm":
| Place name | Location | OS Grid | Historic landowner | Home farm | Listed | River name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Gay | Oxfordshire | SP4816 | Robert de Gay | Manor Farm | Grade II[4] | River Cherwell[h] |
| Hampton Poyle | Oxfordshire | SP5015 | Walter de la Poyle[i] | Manor Farm[j][k] | River Cherwell[l] | |
| Hampton Lovett | Worcestershire | SO8865 | Lovet family[m] | Hampton Farm[n] | Grade II[5] | Elmbridge Brook |
Examples (meadow)
[edit]Examples of Old English hamm and tūn – "village with a flood-meadow or pasture":
| Place name | Location | OS Grid | Derivation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton | Richmond upon Thames | TQ1370 | River Thames[o][p] |
| Hampton Lucy | Warwickshire | SP2557 | River Avon[q][r] |
Examples (high settlement)
[edit]Examples of Old English hēah and tūn – "high settlement":
| Place name | Location | OS Grid | Derivation | River name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton | Evesham, Worcestershire | SP0243 | High ground[s] | River Isbourne – River Avon[t] |
| Hampton in Arden | Solihull, West Midlands | SP2081 | High ground[u] | River Blythe[v] |
Examples in England
[edit]Hampton
[edit]- Hampton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Hampton, Cheshire
- Hampton, Herne Bay, Kent
- Hampton, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
- Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire
- Hampton in Arden, Solihull, West Midlands
- Hampton, Worcestershire
Hampton (prefix)
[edit]Examples of Hampton followed by a name, usually of a landowner:
- Hampton Gay, Oxfordshire
- Hampton Poyle, Oxfordshire
- Hampton Loade, Shropshire
- Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire
- Hampton Lovett, Worcestershire
Hampton (suffix)
[edit]- Littlehampton, West Sussex
- Northampton, Northamptonshire
- Southampton, Hampshire
- Sevenhampton, Gloucestershire
- Sevenhampton, Wiltshire
- Wolverhampton, West Midlands
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Reaney 1969, p. 39.
- ^ Clark Hall 1916, p. 315.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Watts 2007, pp. 275.
- ^ Historic England. "MANOR FARMHOUSE (Hampton Gay) (1220147)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "HAMPTON FARMHOUSE (1288148)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Chapter Two PLACE-NAME STUDY (P H Reaney). . .Examples of Hampton from Old English hām and tūn – "village with a home farm":
- Hampton, Oxfordshire
- Hampton, Gloucestershire
- Hampton Lovett, Worcestershire. . .[1]
- ^ WiKtionary : Old English < hām >
- " home ".
- " property, estate, farm ".
- " village; community ".
- ^ WiKtionary : Old English < tun >
- " an enclosed piece of ground "
- " a village or town "
- ^ Chapter Two PLACE-NAME STUDY (P H Reaney). . .Examples of Hampton from Old English hamm and tūn:
- Hampton, London, Middlesex
- Hampton, Herefordshire
- Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire. . .[1]
- ^ WiKtionary: Old English < hamm >
- " enclosure, piece of enclosed land (especially land enclosed by a river) ".
- ^ Dictionary – Old English ( Clark Hall ) < hamm >
- " piece of pasture land "
- " enclosure "
- " dwelling ".[2]
- ^ The settlement may be on high ground beside a flood meadow.
- ^ Manor Farm is beside a flood-meadow of the River Cherwell.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton Poyle > ( hām + tūn )
. . .“held by the Poyle family. . .[3] - ^ Manor Farm is at the end of Church lane west of the church.
- ^ See Hampton Poyle > social history > . . .parish church and Manor Farm.
- ^ Manor Farm is beside a flood-meadow of the River Cherwell.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton Lovett > ( hām + tūn )
. . .“belonging to the Lovet family. . .[3] - ^ Hampton Farmhouse is on high ground north-east of the railway line.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton > ( hamm + tūn ) . . ."The reference is to a great bend of the River Thames . . .[3] - ^ The derivation suggests that Hampton was originally a farm settlement where pastoral farmers kept livestock on the flood-meadow beside the River Thames.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton Lucy > ( hamm + tūn ). . ."held by the Lucy family. . .It lies in a large bend of the River Avon. . .[3] - ^ The village is near an island created by a bifurcation of the River Avon.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton > ( hēah + tūn ) . . . "The village occupies raised ground between Merry Brook and the River Isbourne. . .[3] - ^ The settlement is near the confluence of the rivers Isbourne and Avon.
- ^ English Place-Names (Victor Watts)
< Hampton in Arden > ( hēah + tūn ) "The village occupies a plateau of high ground"[3] - ^ The settlement is near an island created by a bifurcation of the River Blythe.
Sources
[edit]- Clark Hall, John Richard (1916). A Concise Anglo−Saxon Dictionary, Second Edition. The Macmillan Company.
- Reaney, P H (1969). The Origin of English Place Names. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Stone, Jean (2014). River Cherwell. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-3443-2.
- Watts, Victor (2007). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.