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.

Caplestone Ctg

Early-attested site in the Parish of Worth Matravers

Historical Forms

  • Cableston 1431 FA 1510,1511,1636 Hutch3
  • Cableston or Cappleston 1861 Hutch3
  • Cabulston 1546 Hutch3

Etymology

Caplestone Ctg (SY 979804) [ˈkɔplstən], Cableston 1431 FA, 1510, 1511, 1636 Hutch3, Cableston or Cappleston 1861 Hutch3, Cabulston 1546 Hutch3, cf. Coppleston Md 1840TA . Probably 'Cabel's farm', from a pers.n. Cabel and tūn . Cabel is perhaps a diminutive of the byname Cabe of obscure meaning and origin recorded once in DB (v. Feilitzen 213), but it could be an anglicization of Lat  caballus 'horse' (cf. Rogerus Caballus 1230 cited by Reaney s.n. Capel ); it occurs in Do as the surname of John Cabbel 1332 SR (Stratton), cf. Bardsley s.n.Cabbell who cites 13th and 14th cent, spellings for the name from Nf, O and So but wrongly associates it with the surname Cobbold < OE  Cūðbeald . It is perhaps less likely that the name Caplestone contains the anglicized form of Lat  caballus used as a common noun, recorded as lME cabel 'horse' from c. 1460 (MED).