English Place-name Society

Survey of English Place-Names

A county-by-county guide to the linguistic origins of England’s place-names – a project of the English Place-Name Society, founded 1923.

Middleton

Early-attested site in the Parish of Orton

Historical Forms

  • Middelton 1202 P 1652 DdSale
  • Midelton 1628 PR(R)

Etymology

Middleton, Middelton 1202 P (p), 1652DdSale , Midelton 1628 PR(R).Possibly 'middle enclosure', v. middel , tūn . The name refers to a wild lofty ridge between Nevy Gill and Churn Gill, on which there is not a single habitation; the second el. tūn may therefore have referred to a sheepfold or, more probably, it may have replaced OE  dūn 'hill' or even tunge 'tongue of land', which appears several times in We in the compound Middle Tongue to describe such a ridge.

Places in the same Parish

Early-attested site

Other OS name

Major Settlement