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.

Hatford

Major Settlement in the Parish of Hatford

Historical Forms

  • Hevaford 1086 DB
  • Hauetford 1176 P
  • Hauedford 1220 Fees
  • Haufordia 1234 Bract c.1250
  • Hauford' 1284 Ass
  • Hafford' 1242–3 Fees 1284 Ass
  • Hautford 1294 SR 1428 FA
  • Hawteforde al Hatford 1573 BM
  • Hatford als Hawtford 1713 PubLib 1753 ArchJ

Etymology

This is a compound of OE  hēafod 'head, headland', and ford.Ekwall (DEPN) translates it 'ford by a hill', and W. J. Arkell (Oxoniensia vii, 6) says that the reference is 'to the little projecting plateau on which the village stands'. The ford is a crossing-place on Frogmore Brook, a little higher than the one from which Stanford 398 is named.