Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Screngha', Escringha', Escraingha' 1086 DB

• Scraingeham 1157 YCh354 t.Ric1 Ch 1308 FF 1208,1268

• Scraingesham 1165–75 YCh1225

• Screhingham 1230 P

• Scrahingham, Skrahingham 1233 Ebor 1297 LS 1342 SR 1351 Ipm

• Screingham, Skreingham, Skreyngham 1241 FF 1250 Ebor 1416 YI

• Screinkham 1279–81 QW

• Scraingham, Skraingham, Skrayngham 1241 FF 1276 YI 1555 YD

• Scraiyngham 1469 Pat

• Screnham 1280 Ebor

• Scrakingham 1303 YI

• Skir(r)ingham 1573,1620 FF

• Keiringham 1695 Morden

Etymology

Initial sc would suggest a Scandinavian source for the first element or at least Scandinavian influence. The name is to be taken with Scrane End (L), Screinga 1158 BM, Scrahinge 1212 RBE, Scrainges 1210 (1252) Ch, and for both names the most likely source, as originally pointed out by Zachrisson (PN in ing of Scand. origin 116), is an OScand  pers. name Skrá . LindBN records Skrái as a by-name from OScand  skrá 'parchment, dry skin,' which is probably identical with Norw  skraa 'sick person,' Swed  dialect skrå (e ) 'rascal.' Evidence for the existence of a pers. name Skrá or Skrái is also provided by such Norw place- names as Skraatorp (NoGN i, 329), Skrastadir (ib. iii, 89), Skraarudh (ib. ii, 386), etc. In the early spellings medial h and in one instance k would appear to be a hiatus-filler between the pers. name and the suffix, but it is possible that it stands for a lost medial ð (cf. IPN 111), and in this case the first element may be sought in OScand  skræða which is related to skrá and has precisely the same meaning in ordinary usage. The two may well have been confused as pers. names. 'Homestead of Skrá (or Skræða ) and his people,' v. ingaham . On the question of Scandinavian ing -names v. Skeckling and Skeffling supra 34, 20 and Introd. xix.