Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• (æt) Wicumun c.970 BCS1174 12th

• Wicumbe 1086 DB 1176 P 1207 Fines 1212 Fees116

• Wicumbedena 1157,1158 P

• West Wicumbe 1195 Cur(P)

• Wycumbe c.1220 WellsR 1235 Fees461

• Weycumbe 1227 Ch

• Wycombe Marchaunt 1340 Cl

• Chepingwycomb 1478 IpmR

• Wecome 1500 Ipm

• Estwicombe 1509 LP

• Magna Wykeham 1545 LP

• Cheaping Wycombe Eliz ChancP

• West Wickham Eliz ChancP

Etymology

There are two Wycombes, High, known also as East, Great and Chipping Wycombe and West Wycombe respectively and this probably accounts for the -un of the first form. It is a weakened form of the dat. pl. suffix in-um (cf. Marlow supra ).The first element in this name is presumably that of the river Wye in spite of the tradition recorded in Records of Bucks (x. 90) that the stream was so called in the first instance by cadets of the Royal Military College when map-making. In the 16th cent. Wicombe came often to be written Wickham and thence arose the tradition that the name of the river was Wick .The second element is cumb. The application of the name Wicumbedena to the whole of the King's manor of Wycombe in 1157–8 is worthy of notice.