Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Chelvingehou (sic) 1086 DB

• Cheluingeholm 1086 DB 1180,1181,1182,1183 O

• Chiluingheholm c.1115 LS

• Kiluingeholm c.1141 BMFacs c.1155,c.1185,1190–95 Dane 1194 ChancR 1205 OblR 1205 ChR 1218,1219 Ass

• Chilmingeholme (sic) 1155–60 Dane

• Killingeholm 1194,1195 P 1196 ChancR 1202 Ass 1205 Cur 1218 Ass 1235–36 Fees

• Killingehelm' 1205 P

• Killingehum' 1216 OblR

• Kiluingeham 1176 P

• Kiluingehom' 1206 FF

• Kylvengeham 1225 Cur

• Cheluingholme 1086 DB

• Kiluingholm 1143–47 Dane c.1153 Bridl e14 Dane c.1155,eHy2 1160–66 Fulstow 1166–75 NCot a1180 RRGr e13 1264

• Kiluingholme c.1150 Dane

• Kilvingholm 1152 YChiii e14 NCot eHy2 YChv e13 Bly 1166–81 Pat c.1180 1319

• Kilwingholm Hy2 NCot e13 Dane c.1185 p1186 1195–96,R1 l12 Fees 1238–43 FA 1303

• Kilwyngholme 1346 ib

• Kyluingholm 1245 FF 1269 HarlCh 1301 FF 1317 HarlCh

• Kylvingholm 1254 ValNor 1281 QW 1292 Ch 1386 Fine

• Kylvingholm alias Killingholm 1305 Ipm

• Chiluingholm 1150–60 Dane lHy2 NCot e13

• chiluinholm, chilvinholm 1159–81 e13 ib

• Killvingholm l12 RAiv

• Kilingholm 1148–56 BS 1198,1204 Cur 1212 Fees 1240 FF 1242–43 Fees 1353 Ipm

• Kilyngholm 1336 HarlCh 1350 Ipm 1407 Cl

• Kylingholm(e) 1350 FF 1266 Misc 1291 RSu 1303 FA 1316 Orig 1316 Fine

• Kylyngholm(e) 1317 Pat 1327 SR 1331 Ipm 1331 Cl 1428 FA

• Killingholm(e) 1190 Dugdvi 1301 P 1197,1198 1207 FF 1208,1231,1256 Ch 1268 NCot 1275 Peace 1373 Ipm 1507 InstBen 1556

• Killyngholm(e) 1323 Pat 1327 Banco 1336 Cl 1345 Ipm 1402 Fine

• Kyllyngholm(e) 1228–32 Gilb 1409 Tax 1291 Pat 1316,1365 Cl 1383 Pat 1461,1549,1564

• Kyllyngwhome 1486–93 ECPxx

• Kelyngholm(e) e13 NCot 1294 Ass 1298 Ass 1332 SR 1335 HarlCh 1458 Pat 1502 Ipm 1530 Willsiii 1546 LPxxi

• Kelingholm(e) 1301 Pat 1315 Ipm 1335 Pat 1495 IBL 1535–46 MinAcct 1549 Pat

• Kelwyngholm 1303 FA

• Kellingholm 1213 OblR 1327 Banco

• Kellynghollme (sic) 1494 Ipm

• Kylvingham 1292 RSu

• Killyngham 1305 Ass 1404 Fine 1405 Cl

• Killingham 1542–43 Dugdvi 1552 Pat

• Kyllyngham 1473 1538–39 AD 1541 Dugdv 1553 Pat

• Kyllingham 1551 ib

• Kelingham 1519 DVi

• Kelyngham 1549 Pat

Etymology

This is a very difficult name. Ekwall, DEPN s.n., suggests that the original name may have been an OE  *Cylfingas (from Cynwulfingas ) to which was added OScand  holmr. “Or it may simply be 'the HOLM of the Cynwulfingas '”. This is extremely unlikely since the gen.pl. of a group-name like Cynwulfingas 'the people, the followers of Cynwulf' as the first el. of a p.n. is confidently believed to belong to an early stratum of name-giving in this country. Gillian Fellows-Jensen (SSNEM 218) supposes that “it might rather be an inhabitants' name in -ingas derived from OE  (Anglian) celf “calf”. The second el. is the Scand  appellative holmr m. in the sense “island of higher ground in a low-lying marshy area” and this would be topographically appropriate. She goes on to argue that spellings in Kil - would be the result of the raising of e to i before a dental consonant and compares this with Kilpin YE from OE  *celf-penn . She does not note that the c - in celf was pronounced [tʃ], so that initial K - in Killingholme in this case would be due to Scand. influence.

A likely explanation is that Killingholme was originally a p.n. derived from the gen.pl. of a group name compounded with OE  hām 'a homestead', but the source of the group name is uncertain.The most plausible solution has been proposed by Dr John Insley, who takes it to be the pers.n. Cēolwulf , giving a form *Cēolwulfingahām , later *Cēolfingahām , 'the homestead of the followers of Cēolwulf', accepting that this name originally had OE  hām as second el. He points out that the DB form in -hou and the DB and ME  forms in -holm (e ) show confusion with Scand. haugr 'a mound, a hill' and holmr 'an island, a piece of raised ground in a low-lying marshy area, etc', the latter completely replacing -ham . He argues that “the initial consonant, Germanic /k/, is palatalised to [c] before primary front vowels in Primitive OE. The phonetic development leads to the fully assibilated late OE /tʃ/ by way of an intermediate stage [tç].” He further points out that the fact that the Scand. settlers could associate the initial consonant of such p.ns. as Keswick Cu, Nf, YWR from OE  *Cēsewīc , etc. with North Germanic /k/ shows that this process was still incomplete in the Danelaw at the time of the Scand. invasions.Thus, there is no difficulty in taking the initial consonant of Killingholme to be the original Primitive OE [c] contained in the reflexes of the OE  pers.n. Cēolwulf ; on the palatalisation and assibilation discussed above, v. further Brunner paragraph 207, Anm.9. The OE  pers.n. Cēolwulf occurs as Cēolulf already in the 8th century (v. Feilitzen 76), and the reduced form Cēolf occurs as the first el. of Chelston So (DEPN s.n.) and Chelveston (PN Nth 190).Finally, Dr Insley “comments that the ME  forms in -i - reflect late OE  shortening of /ēo /, followed by mononthongisation to /ø/ and subsequent unrounding to /e/, which was raised to /i/, v. further Jordan paragraph 34″. So, it is likely that Killingholme means 'the homestead of the Cēolwulfingas ('the followers of Cēolwulf')', v. hām , in which hām was replaced by OScand  holmr in the sense 'island of higher ground in a low-lying marshy area'.