Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Punge 13th ReadingC(2), Reading Alm (freq)

• Pinge Wood 1727 PubLib 1846 Snare

• Pingewood 1761 Rocque

• Penge Meadow 1842 TA

Etymology

Pingewood, Punge 13thReadingC (2 ), Reading Alm (freq ), Pinge Wood 1727PubLib , 1846 Snare, Pingewood 1761 Rocque, Penge Meadow 1842TA . A marsh and a road de Punge are mentioned in the first reference. This name is cited in PN -ing (208) as a singular name in -ing of obscure etymology, possibly contracted from an earlier Pyning .It may, however, be a Celtic name identical with Penge Sr 14–15, from Pr Welsh  *penn 'end', and *cd 'wood'. The element *penno- sometimes occurs in OE place-names in the form peon (n ) (cf. ASC æt Peonnum , Pen Pits W or Penselwood So, æt Peonhó , Pinhoe D), and this would account for the -u - of the early forms for Pinge.Penge Sr apparently contains pænn, another OE form of the word.Apart from the different vowel, the development suggested in Sr for Penge seems applicable to the Berks name, which would similarly be subject to strong Norman influence. Other examples of the compound, without this abnormal phonological development, are Penketh La, Penquit D, Pencoyd He, Penquite Co. The meaning is probably '(place at) the end of the wood'.