Olney
Major Settlement in the Parish of Olney
Historical Forms
- Ollanege 979 KCD621 12th
- Olnei 1086 DB
- Olnea 1175,1189 P
- Ouneya 1207 FineR
- Ouneia 1208 Fines
- Auneye 1227 Ass
- Oleneye 1233 Lib
- Olneye 1237–40 Fees
- Oulney 1658 Chicheley 1766 J
Etymology
'Olla's island' v. eg . Olney is almost surrounded by water.That there was an OE pers. name *Olla is almost certain from the 10th cent. form of this name, which has preserved a double l of which there is no other trace. Such gemination frequently appears in hypocoristic personal names. It is possible that *Olla may have been a short form of Ōslāf , but the name may well be very ancient, and its origin consequently lost.