Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Pomacanole 1086 DB

• Pomacanola Exon

• Pomeknoll(e) 13 Douce 1268 Drew 1271 FineR 1280 Ass 1285 FA 1288 Ass 1305 Drew 1332 SR 1362,1365 Pat 1380 Cl 1431 FA

• Pomecnolle 1268 Ass 1291 Tax 1428 FA

• Pomeknol 1288 Ass

• Pommeknoll(e) 1268 Ass 1391 Pat

• Pumernolle (sic, for Pumecnollel?) 1202 FF

• Punk(e)noll(e) 1267 Drew

• Pounknoll(') 1268 Ass 1380

• Punck(e)noll(e) 1535 VE 1545 AddCh 1664 HTax 1811 OS

• Pinneknoll (sic, for Pumeknoll?) 1268 Abbr

• Pynneknoll(e) 1288 Ass

• Pincknoll Eliz ChancP

• Ponneknolle 1268 Ass

• Pon(c)knoll(e) 1332,1334 FF 1340 NI 1363 FF 1457 IpmR

• Ponckenoll 1535 VE

• Poncknoll alias Puncknoll 1587 AddCh

• Poineknoll (sic, for Pomeknoll?) 1280 Ch

• Poin Knoll 1437 IpmR

• Penneenolle (sic, for Pennecnolle) 1291 Tax

• (Poundeknolle or) Penpole (sic) 1463,1466 Pat

• Pomc(k)nolle 1303 FA 1322 Ext

• Pomc(k)knoll(e) 1327 SR 1489 AD

• Pomc(k)knole 1354 ADII

• Pomc(k)knowle 1412 FA

• Pompknoll(e) 1363 FF 1459 Ilch

• Pountknoll 1462 Pat 1468 Hutch3 1528 AD

• Ponteknoll 1474 Pat

• Puntknoll 1517 AD

• Pounctnoll 1666 Russ

• Punnol 1646 SC

Etymology

Probably 'hill-top of a man called Puma', from an OE  pers.n. *Puma and cnoll. For the pers.n., cf. Pymma (Redin 108) which would be an i- mutated derivative analogous to e.g. Bynna from Buna (Redin 61, 87).For the first el. Tengstrand (MN 102) suggests an OE hill-name *Pume (citing various Germanic cognates), whilst Ekwall (DEPN and Studies2 126–7) prefers derivation from OE  plūme 'plum-tree' with early loss of l through dissimilation, but neither of these solutions look very likely.The word cnoll refers to the steep rounded hill still called The Knoll (v. infra ) which reaches 594′ just S of the village. The 1646 spelling represents the local pronunciation of the name.