Todber
Major Settlement in the Parish of Todber
Historical Forms
- Todeberie 1086 DB
- Todeberia Exon
- Todebire 1209 P
- Todeb' 1212 Cur
- Todeber(e) 1244 Ass 1270 For 1280 Ass 1285 FA 1291 Tax 1293 Ipm 1362 Cl
- Todebyr' 1244 Ass
- Todeberwe 1268 ib
- Todebur 1278 Banco 1316 FA
- Toteberg(a) 1177–94 BrutC 1177–94 France
- Totebera 1194 P
- Toteberge 1212 Cur
- Totebire c.1217 Sarum
- Toteber(e) 1299 BrutC 1495 Sher
- Totebyr' 1244 Ass
- Toteberwe 1268 FF
- Totebur 1316 FA
- Toterberg' 1212 Cur
- Totdeberia 1194 P
- Totdebere 1268 Ass
- Toddebir 1228 FF
- Toddebur' 1258 For 1280 Ass
- Toddebere 1278–84 Ipm 1288 Ass 1297 Pat
- Toddebery 1280 Ass
- Tudebur' 1258 For
- Tudebery 1270 ib
- Tudboro 1575 Saxton
- Todbur 1278 Banco
- Todbury 1411 Cl
- Todbere 1664 HTax
- Tuttebur 1303 FA
- Tottebere 1327 SR
- Totbere 1306 Banco 1479 IpmR 1503 Ipm
- Tokebere (sic) 1331 Ipm
- Tedebere 1347 Cl
- Tidebere 1371 For
Etymology
Both first and second els. of this name are uncertain. The first el. is probably the pers.n. Tota , but tōte (gen.sg. -an ) 'a lookout' cannot be ruled out. Some of the early spellings for the second el. suggest beorg 'hill, barrow', others point to bearu 'wood, grove' or bǣr 2 '(woodland) pasture', and a few show confusion with burh (dat.sg. byrig ) 'fortification'. (On the problems of interpreting SW p.ns. in -ber , etc, v. PN D 107 s.n. Shebbear). An OE *tōtanbeorg 'hill used as a look-out', although only one possible explanation of the name, would have analogies in names containing the el. tōt-hyll (v. EPN s.v.), cf. also on toten berg ' in the Anglo-Saxon bounds of Six. Handley par. infra ; the land rises in the N of the par. to over 250 feet.