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.

Iver

Major Settlement in the Parish of Iver

Historical Forms

  • Evreham 1086 DB
  • Eura 1175 P Hyi Ch 1267
  • Houre al. Heuere 1185 RotDom
  • Eure Ri P 1195 Cur(P) 1198 Fines 1219 Bract 1227 Ass 1241,1247 ib
  • Evre 1220 Fees314 1316 FA 1340 Ch 1341 Cl 1346 FA
  • Evere 1235 Fees461 1300 Ipm 1302 FA 1341 Fine 1350 Ipm 1377 IpmR 1422 ADvi 1491 Ipm
  • Huure c.1242 RecordsofMerton
  • Euere 1249 Gross 1262 Ass 1402,1474 BM
  • Uvere 1284 FA
  • Ouere 1296 Harl84F47
  • Eyver 1372 Cl
  • Iver 1382 IpmR 1440 ADi 1468 Pat 1490 Ipm
  • Ivere 1383 Cl
  • Ever 1455 ADiv 1526 LS 1535 VE 1597 D
  • Ivre 1471 BM
  • Euer al. Iver 1509 LP

Etymology

The name is difficult but it may be suggested that this is the word yfre and that the slope is that which runs eastward of the village. The am of the DB form is probably the Lat. acc. form with inorganic h . OE y should have become u in this part of the county, at least in early times (v. Introd. xxiv), but there are only four forms which show traces of that development. The vast majority of the forms show an e (cf. Kimble supra ). This was raised to i towards the end of the 14th cent. Cf. the common pronunciation of ever as [ivə]. The pron. of Iver as [aivə] with a long vowel would seem to be purely a spelling pronunciation, but no trace of any other can now be found though there is a tradition that there was once a somewhat eccentric canon of Windsor who pronounced it Ivver . Perhaps this should not really have been reckoned an eccentricity on his part.