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.

Sunderland

Major Settlement in the Parish of Sunderland

Historical Forms

  • Sonderland in Blankrayk 1278 Ass
  • Sunderlond 1279 ib
  • Sunderlande 1299 Ipm

Etymology

This is OE  sundorland . In the OE Bede (v, 23) on sundor lande ðæs ilcan mynstres translates in territorio eiusdem monasterii (i.e. Wearmouth), the reference being to Sunderland (Du).The word glosses Latin predia , prediolum . Sundor - in OE compounds means 'private' or 'special', or 'separate' or 'remote.'

Places in the same Parish