Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Chernitone 1086 DB

• Chirnigtuna c.1115 LS

• Chirningtun c.1160 Dane

• Cherligtuna c.1115 LS

• Cherlingtuna c.1115 ib

• Chirringtune 1155–60 Dane

• Chiringtona Hy2 Gilb 1409

• Kirningtun 1143–47 Dane a1150,1160–66,1175–79 ib

• Kirningtuna c.1155 1318 Ch

• Kirningtune c.1160 Dane

• Kirningtona 1153–54 Newh Ed1

• Kirnington(') 1233 Welles lHy3 NCot 1275 Cl 1287 RSu 1314 Ipm 1569 InstBen 1585,1587,1590etfreqto1696 BT

• Kirnington(') alias Kirrington Eliz ChancP

• Kirnyngton(') 1294 Ass 1315 Cl 1316 FA 1319 Pat 1402,1428 FA 1461 Pat 1576 Saxton

• Kyrningthon 1278 Ipm

• Kyrnington 1281 1301 FF 1331 Ipm

• Kyrnyngton 1303 FA 1327 SR 1343 NI 1351 Pat 1356 Ipm 1385 Pat 1570,1582,1583 BT

• Kyrnigt' Hy2 Ch 1318 RRG 1237–8 HarlCh c.1290

• Kyrnygton 1428 FA

• Kirnigtona 1195–96 Dane 1212 Fees 1250–51 RRG 1267 RRGr

• Kirningetune 1155–60 Dane

• Kirningeton 1285 Cl

• Kirnigetun c.1160 Dane

• Kirnighetun c.1160 ib

• Kirnintune 1155–60 Dane

• Kirninton' 1176 P

• Kirnintona 1190–95 Dane

• Kirninton c.1221 Welles 1698,1699 BT

• Kyrnynton 1539 LPxiv

• Kiringtun 1143–47 Dane 1147–73 Bodl l13 Fees 1238–43

• Kirington 1270 Ipm 1275 RH 1281 QW 1309 Ipm 1323 Inqaqd

• Kiryngton 1303 FA

• Kyrington' 1242–43 Fees 1346 FA

• Kyryngton 1287 Ipm 1291 Tax 1331 Cl

• Kirinton' 1203 P

• Kerniton' 1193,1194 P 1196 ChancR

• Kernyton' 1260 Cl

• Kerinton' 1195,1197 P 1252,1255 Cl

• Keryngton 1428 FA

• Kerninton' 1168 P

• Kerington 1219 FF 1278,1301 Cl 1608,1703,1713,1719,1721 BT 1774 Yarb

• Keringtonne 1577 ib

• Keryngton' 1373 Peace

• Keryngton 1461 Pat 1463 Fine 1480–3 ECPxvi 1504 Ipm

• Kermintton 1200 ChR

• Kermiton' 1202 Ass

• Kermington 1548 Pat 1664,1703 Terrier 1704,1705 BT 1779,1810 Yarb

• Kermigton 1700 Terrier

• Kirmton' 1203 ChR

• Kirmington(') l13 NCot 1219 Fees 1225 Welles 1270 Ipm 1576 LER 1603 Terrier 1606,1629,1630,1635 BT

• Kirmyngton 1610 Speed

• Kyrmington 1190 NCot e13

• Kyrmyngton 1343 Cl 1347 Pat 1383 Cl 1491,1498 Ipm 1513 LPi 1535 VEiv 1538–39 AD 1547 Pat

• Kyrminton 1281 Ipm

Etymology

The from æt Coringatune 1066–68 (12) ASWills has been identified with Kirmington by Stenton (DB xlii), followed by Whitelock (ASWills 211), who states that the identification is “very probable”.She comments that in this case the form “must be corrupt with omission of the nasal, which may have been represented by a stroke over the r , and probably with o for e , a common error”. Ekwall (Studies3 25) considers this identification “in itself probable, but Coringatūn cannot be an early form of Kirmington, which probably goes back to OE  Cynemǣringatun ”. He goes on to make the impossible suggestion that it is a form for Carrington LSR, since Carrington was not so-named till 1812 after Robert Smith, Lord Carrington . The Coringatun of the AS will may well be intended to denote Kirmington, as has been claimed, but it certainly does not fit in with the variant spellings now collected above.

Nor do these spellings support Ekwall's interpretation of the name as 'the tūn of Cynemǣr 's people', from the gen.pl. *Cynemǣringa of *Cynemǣringas , the base of which is the OE  pers.n. Cynemǣr , and tūn 'a farmstead, village', if these forms are compared with those, for example, for Kempsford (PN Gl 138), Kilmersdon (So, DEPN s.n.), Kimberley (PN Nt 148), Kimmerston Nb (PN NbDu 127–28), and Kimsbury (PN Gl 1133), the first el. in each case being certainly Cynemǣr . Furthermore, there are only four spellings in the whole collection for Kirmington with medial -e -, so that it is extremely doubtful that this is indeed from the gen.pl. -inga of a group name in -ingas as Ekwall proposes. On the whole the evidence suggests an -ingtūn formation based on a pers.n., i.e. 'the farmstead, village associated with or called after X'. What that pers.n. was it is impossible to say and the full interpretation of Kirmington remains obscure.