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.

Glaramara

Early-attested site in the Parish of Borrowdale

Historical Forms

  • Hovedgleuermerhe 1209–10 Furness
  • Gleuermerghe 1211 ib
  • Glaramara 1784 West

Etymology

In the first form Hoved is from OWSc  hǫfuð, 'head,' clearly used here of the mountain itself, and the whole name, which is an inversion compound, may be interpreted 'Glaramara head.' The first element in the difficult Glaramara can be explained without violence to the early forms as (at ) gliúfrum , 'at the ravines,' the dative plural of ON  gliúfr , to which erg , 'shieling,' was subsequently added. For the formation cf. Carhampton (So), the first element of which is (æt ) carrum .