Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Herdebi 1086 DB 1166 LN l.12 Rut 1202 Fine 1268 RGros 1277 BelCartB e.15

• Herdebia c.1130 LeicSurv

• Herdebie Hy1 Ch 1333

• Herdebeie 12 AD

• Herdeby c.1130 LeicSurv 1166 RBE l.12 Rut 1208 Fine e.13 BelCartA e.14 Crox Hy3 Comp 1413,1415 Banco 1446 Wyg 1472

• Herddeby 1294 ib

• Hertebi 1086 DB

• Herteby 1277 BelCartB e.15 Wyg l.13

• Hertheby 1282 OSut

• Herdbi c.1130 LeicSurv

• Herdby c.1130 a.1250 WoCart 1449 Fine 1415 Crox 1520

• Herby 1518 Visit 1521 LWills 1553 Pat

• Herbye 1541 MinAccts

• Hardeby 1363 Ipm 1395 Cl 1413 Comp 1466 Rut 1475 Wyg 1535,1537 CoPleas

• Hardeby in le Vale 1453 Fine

• Hardby 1413 Comp 1431 Fine 1463 Wyg 1490 Ipm 1535 CoPleas

• Hareby 1510 Rut

• Harebia 1578 LEpis 1585 LibCl

• Harby 1508 Banco 1516 Fine 1519 Wyg 1535 VE 1535 CoPleas

• Hardeby in Staverne 1343 Cl

• Hardeby in le Vale 1453 Fine

Etymology

There appear to be four instances of this name in the Midland Danelaw. In addition to our Leics. example, there are also Harby (Nt 205), a lost Herdebi (Db 570) and a lost Hertheby , a recently recognized late 13th cent. Notts. instance (related to Tithby) which is recorded in the Thurgarton Cartulary. Lindkvist 10 suggests that the first el. of Harby in Notts. may either be hjǫrð (hjarðar gen.sg.) 'a herd' or alternatively the Scand  pers.n. Herrøðr , while Herrøðr is preferred for this instance by Ekwall DEPN and by Gover, Mawer and Stenton, the editors of the Notts. survey of the EPNS. DEPN also prefers Herrøðr as the first el. of Harby in Leics. Kenneth Cameron (Db 570) suggests that the lost Herdebi contains rather OE  heord 'a herd'. Gillian Fellows- Jensen (SSNEM 52) prefers Scand  hjǫrð for the Leics., Notts. and Derbys. examples (the recently discovered Hertheby of the Thurgarton Cartulary postdating her publication). Carole Hough (NQ, September 1995, 264–5) who first noted the cartulary example, points out that because of it, four instances of apparently identical names would seem to preclude a recurring pers.n. in compound with bȳ . She interprets all of these names as being a compound appellative hjarðar -bý (r ) 'herd farm', a Scand representation of the common OE  heorde -wīc 'herd farm', i.e. 'that part of a manor devoted to livestock as distinct from… that part devoted to arable farming'. John Insley (SNPh 9–23) argues strongly that the compound is rather hēordabȳ of Anglo-Scand formation and meaning 'the village, settlement of the herdsmen'. He sees these names as representing low status settlements of groups of herdsmen attached to important desmesnes. He suggests that ninth cent. lengthening of short vowels and diphthongs before homorganic groups would have given heorde 'a herdsman, a shepherd', with later shortening to herde , that spellings with t show AN substitution of t for d , while forms with th may be the result of formal contamination by the Scand  cognate hirðir 'a herdsman'.

Hence, Harby is probably 'the farmstead or village of the herdsmen', otherwise 'the herd farm', v. heorde , hjǫrð (hjarðar gen.sg.), bȳ . The form Hardeby in Staverne 1343 Cl may indicate that the settlement was absorbed into or later belonged to neighbouring Stathern. Harby lies in the Vale of Belvoir, thus Hardeby in le Vale 1453 Fine, v. val .