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.

Gibcrack

Early-attested site in the Parish of Layston with Buntingford

Historical Forms

  • Giberake (sic) 1537 LP
  • Gyvrake 1542 FF
  • Gipcracke 1556 Pat
  • Gibcrack(e) 1583,1740 FF 1789 Recov

Etymology

Gibcrack (lost) is Giberake (sic)1537 LP, Gyvrake 1542 FF, Gipcracke 1556 Pat, Gibcrack (e )1583, 1740FF , 1789Recov .The name, like Gibcrack (PN Ess 248) must have referred originally to a badly or flimsily built house. Cf. Gimcrack (NED).