Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Reforne 1756 Hutch3

• Reforne close 1839 TA 1892 Map

• Riff home 1608 LRMB

• Raytown (sic) 1795 Boswell

Etymology

Reforne (Kelly, about SY 688720), Reforne 1756 Hutch3, Reforne close 1839TA , 1892 Map, Riff home 1608LRMB , Raytown (sic)1795 Boswell; the second el. is possibly horn 'projecting piece of land, or headland'; the first el. may be eModE  riff 'a rift, a chink' (from 1602 NED), a variant of rift 'a cleft, a fissure'. Alternatively, as pointed out by Professor Löfvenberg, the first el. could be ModE  reef 'a narrow ridge or chain of rocks, shingle, or sand, lying at or near the surface of the water', the earliest form of which is riff (e ) (1584 NED s.v. reef sb. sense 1, cf. especially the quotation from 1742 ib which refers to Portland as being joined to the mainland by 'a prodigious Riff of Beach', i.e. Chesil Beach supra ); however the situation of Reforne in the centre of the island near to Easton, only c. ½ mile from the W coast but some 1½ miles from Chesil Beach, makes reference to this particular feature unlikely.