Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Offirtun John Orm2

• Offurton John,1226 Orm2

• Offurthon 1378 Eyre

• Offerton 1248 Ipm

• Offreton E1 Orm2 1337 Eyre 1363 ChFor

• Offrington c.1295 Orm2

• Offrynton 1454 Eyre 1540 AddCh

• Offorton 1351 Eyre

• Affreton 1439 ChRR

Etymology

Offerton is a difficult p.n., which must be taken with Offerton Db 155, although the latter has no -ington forms. The two places, however, occupy similar sites, close to a river and on a route-way.DEPN and Db 155 discuss various possibilities for the first el. The base is obviously a pers.n., but the form is elusive. Db 155 suggests an OE  pers.n. Offhere , though OE  pers.ns. in Off - are not recorded.DEPN suggests the OE  pers.ns. Oftfōr , Ōsfrið as alternatives to a p.n. in ford, such as Offan-ford 'Offa's ford', from the OE  pers.n. Offa . The recorded forms suggest that the first el. could be either the OE  pers.n. Oftfōr , or the pers.n. Odfrid , Oudfride (either the OG  Odfrid or OScand  *Auð -frið ) discussed by Bjorkman NP 106. But, on balance I agree with Professor Cameron, who now thinks that both names represent an *Offan-ford -tūn '(the farmstead at) Offa's ford', v. tūn . The Ch p.n., however, has an alternative formation, representing *Offanford-ing -tūn 'the farmstead called after Offanford ', v. -ing-, or *Offanfordinga -tūn 'the farmstead of the folk of Offanford ', v. -ingas .

Tait rejects the identification of Offerton with the lost Alretune DB 267b ('farm at the alder-tree', v. alor , tūn ), which was in Hamestan (Macclesfield) Hundred, but points out that Ollerton 333infra , with which the DB form has been identified, is in a different hundred, v. Chet NS lxxv215n.