Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Fiuelac 1086 DB

• Fiuelei(a), Fyuelei(a), Fivelei(a), Fiveley, Fivelay(e) a.1080,1081–96(15th) Whitby 1114–24 Bridl 1128–32 BM 1155–7 YCh 1201 Cur 1285 KI 1297 LS 1348 FF

• Fiuele, Fivele, Fyvele 12th,13th Bridl 1256,1258 Pat 1276 RH 1402 YI

• Fyuelee 1316 NomVill

• Phyvelay 1139–47 YCh 1301 Ch

• Fifle 1148 LeonardN 1160–76 YCh 13th Malton

• Fiflea 1195,1196 P

• Fiflei, Fifley 1156,1173 LeonardN

• Fiflee late13th Misc

• Fiuel' 1160–5 Bridl

• Fiu(e)leg 1241 FF

• Fiweley 1278 YI

• Filey, Fyley 1447 Ch 1650 ParlSurv

• Fyley als. Fiveley 1613 FF

• Fyeley 1565 FF

Etymology

Filey might be thought of as a compound of OE  fīf 'five' and leah with the meaning 'five clearings.' Numerals, however, seem to be confined in place-names to compounds referring to hills, mounds, measures of land, springs and trees. Anderson (59, 78) notes Threo (L) 'three mounds,' Forehoe (Nf) 'four mounds' as wapentake-names, Middendorff notes under the different OE  numerals names like to ðam twam stane 'two stones,' to þrim þornan 'three thorns,' on sex þorn 'six thorns,' etc., and from other counties we may add Four Oaks, Five Ashes, etc. (PN Sx 151, etc.), Three Barrows Hill (PN D 286), Twywell (PN Nth 188), Fifhide (PN Sr 298), etc. OE  leah never appears in early combination with numerals. A possible exception is Sixhills (L), which Zachrisson (Mélanges de Philologie offerts á M. Johan Vising , Göteborg 1925, 187) considers to be from OE  siex 'six' and leah , but this again may well be a hill-name from OE  hyll as in Harthill infra 151.

It is much more probable that Filey is a compound of OScand  fífa or fífill 'cotton-grass,' as in Norwegian Fivelsdal (NoGN xii, 207), and leah . Mr Sheppard informs us that there is a large deposit of peat on the cliffs south of Filey and that cotton-grass is recorded from here. Osmotherley (PN NRY 213) shows that a hybrid place-name consisting of OE  lēah and a Scandinavian first element is possible.