Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Erlingeham 1086 DB 1174 P 1220 Fees 1221 Ass 1236 FF c.1275 For

• Erlyngeham 1287 Ass

• Herlingeham 1221 FF

• Erlingham, Erlyngham c.1150 Monast e.13 Berk 1221,1248 Ass 1251 BM 1270 For 1639 InqM

• Herlingham, Herlyngham 13 Glouc 1204 P c.1220 Berk 1282 Episc

• Arlingham, Arlyngham 1492 Pat 1503,1539 FF

Etymology

'Homestead or water-meadow of Eorl's or Eorla's folk -ingas (gen.pl. -inga ), hām , hamm . The pers.n. presents certain difficulties. The recorded OE  pers.n. Eorl is of Scandinavian origin from ON  Iarl (Redin 6). But there may have been a native pers.n. Eorl , derived from OE  eorl 'warrior, nobleman' in the same way as other pers.ns. are derived from words with parallel connotations, such as Beorn , Cniht , Esne or Hyse (from OE  beorn 'warrior', cniht 'youth, warrior', esne 'slave, youth', hyse 'youth, warrior'). For Arlington (Sx 408) an OE  Eorla was proposed as a hypocoristic form of pers.ns. in Eorl - like Erlebald , Eorlebyrht , Erlewin , etc. but these are OG names (Forssner 78–9). The lost Earlewood (infra ) may also be named from the same man or from the Earls of Berkeley. It is also difficult to decide whether the second el. is hām 'homestead' or hamm 'water-meadow'; the spellings would, if anything, favour hām , the topography hamm , as in the Ham (infra ).