Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Buethby 1276 Laner

• Buwethby 1306 Ass

• Bowetby 1366 Carliol 1384 IpmR 1485 Ipm

• Bonetby (sic) 1395 IpmR

• Bowetbie 1603 Gilsland

• Boithby 1589 ExchKR 1626 Boothby

• Boytby 1589 ExchKR 1590 AD 1601 Survey

• Boetbye, Bothebye, Boothbye 1603 Gilsland

• Bothby 1626 Boothby

• Boathby 1674 Boothby

Etymology

The first element here is a personal name, which in forms such as Buet , Bueth and Boet was widely current in Cumberland in the 12th century. Its best-known bearer was Bueth, father of the Gille whose own name seems to be preserved in Gilsland supra 2. The exact base of the name has not yet been settled (for a discussion v. ScandCelts 67), but there is no serious doubt that it is of Gaelic origin. As the second element is bȳ , the name must have arisen in or after the 10th century, and the history of Glassonby infra 194 shows that it may well be a post-Conquest formation. The modern form of the name is due to association with the common NCy booth .