Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• Lobenho 1086 DB Wm2,p.1150 Dugd 1270 RGrav

• Lobeho c.1200 Dugd

• Lobehou 1242 Fees 13 ShR

• Lubeho e.12 Dugd 1109 Nichols 1147 BM 1230 ChancR

• Lubehow 1243 Fees

• Lubehou 1253×58 RHug

• Lubehoo 1364 BPR

• Lubbeho(u) 1230 P 1230 RGros 1230 Cur Hy3 BM

• Lubbehow 1243 RGros

• Lubbenho 1109 Nichols 1203 Ass Hy3 BM

• Lubenho p.1150,12 Dugd 1203 Ass 1270 RGrav 1276 RH

• Lubenhou 1220 MHW

• Lubeham 1086 DB

• Lubanham 1086 DB

• Lubenham 1260 Cur c.1291 Tax 1481 Pat 1497 Deed 1558 Will 1613 LML

• Lubbenham 1261,1317 Banco 1333 Rut 1340 Peake 1535 VE 1540 MinAccts 1610 Speed 1700 LeicW

• Lobenham 1267 Cur 1274 Coram 1430,1451 MktHPR 1516 Braye 1529 LinDoc

• Lobbenham 1324 Pat 1328 Banco 1420 Nichols 1427 Rut

• Lobenam 1347 Peake

• Lobnam 1369,1372 GildR

• Lubnam 1509,1522,1528,1541 MktHPR 1553 Pat

Etymology

'(The settlement at) Luba's or Lubba's spur(s) of land', v. hōh (hōe dat.sg., hōs nom.pl., hōm dat.pl.). The OE  masc. pers.ns. Luba (Luban gen.sg.) and Lubba (Lubban gen.sg.) are both attested independently.The recorded place-name forms vary principally between Lub (b )enho and Lub (b )enham . The southern end of the hill-spur at Lubenham is forked, with the township situated on the eastern side of the western prong of the fork. The spur as a whole would have been the hōh , but the two minor prongs may have given rise to a plural hōs 'the spurs' (cf. Hose, Lei 299). If the entire headland was called alternatively *Lub (b )anhōh and *Lub (b )anhōs , the early settlement name in the dat.sg. would have been *(æt ) Lub (b )anhōe and in the dat.pl. *(æt ) Lub (b )anhōm , v. aæt . A ME  interchange between *Lub (b )enho and *Lub (b )enhom would have developed and in the latter form, the vowel of the final syllable could well have been shortened, hence -hōm > -hom > -ham , i.e. with subsequent confusion with the reflex of OE  hām .Ekwall in Studies points out the similarity of Lubenham to Bozenham (Nth 100) and to Cranham (Ess 124) where the same phenomenon appears to have occurred.