Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Frankeby 1230(17),1244(17) Sheaf 1278 ChFor 1304 ChF 1387 ChRR

• Frankeby in Wirhal 1315 Plea

• Frankeby Wyrehall 1526 Orm2

• Frankebie 1553 Pat

• Franceby 1629 ChetOSviii

• Fraunkbi 1346 BPR

• Fraunckeby 1347 Eyre

• Fraunkebi 1347 BPR

• Fraunkeby 1355 Eyre 1357 ChRR 1359,1362,1364 BPR 1434 Plea

• Fraunkeley in Wyrall 1421 Plea

• Frankley 1523 Plea

• Franckley 1612 ChRR

• Frankbye 1539–47 Dugd

• Frankby 1546,1579 ib

Etymology

'Frenchman's farm', from ME  by (ON  býr)' a farmstead' and ME  Franke (OE  Franca) 'a Frenchman, a Frank'. DEPN and Mawer in Brownbill 313 adduce the ODan  pers.n. Franki , which would be remarkable in a Norse-Irish district like this. The cognate ON  Frakki does not fit the forms, although if the p.n. were formed early in the tenth century, it might possibly contain the unassimilated OWScand  form *Franki . The ME derivation follows upon Brownbill 171 and 218, Tait 135, where it is observed that in Robert of Rhuddlan's DB manor of Little Caldy (Caldy 282supra ), unus Francigena cum i serviente habet ii carucas , 'one Frenchman with one serf has two ploughs' (DB f.264b Tait 135). His home would be known as Frank-by . It was obviously a part included within the manor of Calders (Caldy), not a distinct manor, so it was not named in DB. Cf. Sagabook xiv308 n.23. This p.n. may be evidence of the use of -by in a post-conquest formation.