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.

Mundon

Major Settlement in the Parish of Mundon

Historical Forms

  • Mundunā 1086 DB
  • Mundune 1119 Colch
  • Mundon(ia), Mundone 1119–98 1332 Londin
  • Munden 1190 P
  • Mundene 1236 Fees
  • Munedene 1185 Templars
  • Monden 1238 SR
  • Monden parua 1285 Ass
  • Mondon(e) 1291 Tax 1323 For 1428 FA

Etymology

There is little to go upon here, but possibly Mundon is for earlier Mundandun , 'Munda 's hill,' v. dun and cf. Mundham (PN Sx 72). The absence of any clear sign of the inflexional syllable is noteworthy, however, and suggests the possibility of a compound of mund and dun , but evidence for the use of mund is hard to find. mund-beorg is used once in the AS translation of the Psalms of a sheltering hill, and a similar compound munddun may be found here, though the hill is not of a kind which would offer much shelter or protection. Munden (Herts) is Munddene (KCD 1354) and would seem clearly to be a compound of mund and denu .