Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Golse 1086 DB

• Gosla 1135–9(p),1154–91 Bridl 1155–7 YCh1148

• Gousla 1179–89 Bridl

• Gousl' 1195–1225 Dodsvii,244

• Gousele 12th Meaux

• Gousle 1197–1210 Melsa 1204 Ass 1246 1251 Ass 1260 Rental 1285 KI c.1400 Melsa

• Gowsle 1210–20 ib

• Gowcell 13th Nunkeel

• Gousell' 13th Meaux

• Gousel 1209 FF 1276 RH 1349 Meaux

• Gowsel late13th Nunkeel

• Gowsell 1580 FF

• Gousill t.Hy3 YD c.1265 KF

• Gousil 1289 Ebor

• Gowsyll 1504 Test

• Goushill, Goushyll 1297 LS 1334 FF 1341 Extent

• Goulshull 1316 NomVill

• Gowlsle c.1400 Melsa

• Gouxhill 1375 FF 1483 Ipm 1610 FF

• Gowxhill 1537 Dugd

• Gouxsill 1512 FF

• Gocksall 1589 FF

• Guxhyll, Geuxhyll 1549,1552 FF

• Goxell 1611 FF

• Goxhill 1567 FF 1828 Langd

Etymology

Goxhill is identical in origin with Goxhill (L), which has a similar run of forms, Golsa , Golse 1086 DB, Gausla 12th Bridl, Goxa 1147–68 YCh 1339–40, Gousla , Goussa 1150–60 BM, Gosla t. Hy 2 Bridl, Gousle early 13th BM, Bridl et freq , Gausile 13th BM, Gousel 1211 FF, 1301 Ch, Goushill 1290 Ipm, Gouxhill 1331 ChR, 1341 Pat. These names offer considerable difficulty, and various attempts have been made to solve the etymology. For the first element Ekwall (NoB xiv, 147) has suggested the OScand  pers. name Gaukr , gen. Gauks , Zachrisson (ib. xv, 163) a Scandinavianised form of OE  gēac 'cuckoo,' and Lindkvist (142) a stream-name Gaus , related to OScand  gjósa 'to gush, spirt,' Norw  gaus 'outflow, a stream of liquid' and Cu dialect gowze 'rush of fluid.' If Lindkvist's suggestion is correct —and there is here a small stream which flows intermittently according to the season—we have to suppose that x in the later forms is an inverted spelling for z as in Moxby, Roxby (PN NRY xxxii, 29, etc.). The second element, too, has been variously derived, by Lindkvist from OScand a 'river,' with l introduced as an inverted spelling by Anglo-Norman influence, by Ekwall (loc. cit .) from ODan  la 'water along the sea, creek' (though Goxhill is many miles inland, and there is no good evidence for la in England), and by Zachrisson (loc. cit .) from OE  leah or possibly hyll . In favour of the last suggestion it may be pointed out that there is a small hill at Goxhill (ERY) such as is common in these parts of Holderness, and the earlier spellings, which do not obviously imply the form hyll , may be accounted for by supposing a stress-shifting to the dative case ending, that is, from Góushílle to Góushillé , similar to that found in names like Newsome supra 28 and Windersome infra 95; v. also Nuthill supra 33. It may be added that the final a in most of the early spellings is merely the Latin nominative singular ending, v. further LMS i, 48 ff.

It is, at this stage, impossible to do more than record these attempts to arrive at a satisfactory solution of the problems.