Hobcarton
Early-attested site in the Parish of Lorton
Historical Forms
- Hopecartan 1260 Rental
- Hobbecartan 1290 MinAcct
Etymology
This is a difficult name. There is little doubt that it is an inversion compound of which the second element is the OIr personal name Cartán . The alternation of Hope - and Hobbe - in the early forms makes the meaning of the first element uncertain. The name as a whole probably refers to the hill which culminates in Hobcarton End, and it is at least possible that the first element should be associated with the word *hobb or *hobbe which Ekwall (Studies 177–8) suggests for the first element of Hautbois (Nf). A cognate of the word is recorded in Frisian with the sense of a 'piece of rising ground surrounded by marsh.' Its history is obscure and its meaning cannot be defined closely, but its general sense seems to have been 'hill.'