Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Runethweyt, Runethwaite 1256 Ass10d 1331 Pat

• Runthwaite, Runthwayte 1342 NB 1374 Cl

• Rownerthwayt, Rounerthwayt, -thweyt 1292 Ass47 1294 Cl 1318 Ipm 1324,1327 Fine 1328 Cl

• Rounerthewayt, Roinerthewayt 1327 Cl

• Rounnerthwayt 1345 Cl

• Ronnestwate 1310 Whitby

• Romerthwayt 1321 Ch

• Rommerthwayt 1345 Ipm

• Rount(h)wayt, Rounthwaite 1323 Carliol 1338 Cl 1338,1342 Pat 1370,1375 Ipm 1777 M

• Rownthat 1687 PR(CR)

• Runerthwait 1338 Pat

• Ronerthwayt 1360 ib

• Roundwhaite 1573 Comm

• Roundwhat, Roundthwaite 1588 Rent 1629 Warr 1749 PR(Clb)

Etymology

'Clearing of the mountain ash', v. raun (gen.sg. raunar ), þveit .The spellings with Run - are scribal inversions, which could arise from the spelling of ME  -ū - as -ou - (which also represented ON  -au -); similar spellings in -u - are found for Rawmarsh and Rawdon (YW vii, 80 §8).